But Coca-Cola acknowledged that it was paid for its products.
Coca-Cola acknowledged it wasn't replacing the water in the exact location from which it was taken, but said all its plants were focused on sustainable production, and that damaging the surrounding environment wouldn't be in the company's "best business interest".
A spokesman for Coca-Cola acknowledged there had been "some uncertainty" surrounding Coke distribution arrangements in Libya during the period described in the cable.
Last year, when Coca-Cola finished atop the Best Global Brands list for the 13th consecutive time, an executive at the Coca-Cola Company acknowledged the streak but noted that "nothing lasts forever".
Coca-Cola Company, Atlanta, formally acknowledged that it had named Droga5, New York, as the creative agency for the Diet Coke brand in North America, which replaces Wieden & Kennedy, Portland, Ore.
CNN is, Mr. Griffin acknowledged, "the Coca-Cola of news, the greatest news brand in the world".
"We are firmly convinced," he wrote in his 1897 annual report, "that wherever there are people and soda fountains, Coca-Cola will, by its now universally acknowledged merit, win its way quickly to the front of popularity".
As for the advisability of making so large an ad investment these days, "we know we're living in challenging times," acknowledged Joseph V. Tripodi, senior vice president and chief marketing and commercial officer at Coca-Cola.
He acknowledged, though, that reducing suppliers' use of water is much harder and said Coca-Cola was only in the early stages of tackling that issue.
Given the complexity of the obesity issue, Perez said the company made the decision not to try to overly finesse its strategy but make some commitments while acknowledging Coca-Cola will need to adapt them over time as it measures the impact it is having.
Yet in considerable back-and-forth with Oxfam reps, they declined to criticize or even acknowledge frustration with Coca-Cola's approach, beyond the carefully composed language in the textbox.
