Diet Coke Plus: "Great Taste Has Its Benefits"

This week, The Coca-Cola Co.'s Web site has once again proven to be a good source of information about soda industry changes. Browsing through the most recent press releases, I found one from March 22 that sparked my interest. Apparently Coke is coming out with a new drink: Diet Coke Plus.

According to the Web site, Diet Coke Plus will contain vitamins and minerals to make the product healthier. In fact, "Each eight-ounce serving of Diet Coke Plus provides a good source of Niacin (vitamin B3), vitamins B6 and B12, zinc and magnesium (15% Daily Value [DV] for Niacin, B6 and B12, 10% DV for zinc and magnesium)." The beverage will be launched in "12-ounce 'sleek cans'" in Los Angeles and New York City, but it will be available nationwide in April.

I'm not so sure about the benefits of adding vitamins and minerals to soda. While I suppose it is better to drink soda with vitamins as opposed to drinking the same amount without them, I am hesitant to believe they will be that beneficial to consumers or that consumers will even be that interested in the product in the first place. Additionally, people may be led to believe the product is actually healthy for them in terms of health food items, which could lead to an increase in soda drinking (and perhaps obesity to boot). This false sense of what is healthy might not be so good for the American consumer.

What does everyone else think about this? Would you buy Diet Coke Plus? Is it a good idea to put vitamins and minerals in soda? Will it be a hit?