Spark's response to a customer who said she was leaving over the advert was simple and celebrated.

Telco giant Spark has waved goodbye to a customer who took exception to its gay-friendly ad.



The #thankstoyou video, which was released on February 1 in support of Auckland Pride Festival, depicts a family of two men cradling their toddler.

Commenter Roselle Du told Spark "you just lost another customer, goodbye", to which the telecommunications company responded simply - "Bye!".



The response has since gone viral, with the Facebook post attracting nearly 1000 replies and being shared across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The video has been watched nearly 600,000 times.



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Commenter Roselle Du has been approached for comment.



A Spark spokesperson said it was heartening to see that the negative reactions represented a very small minority of the overall sentiment.

"We are proud to be clear about the values that we have as a brand. If customers don't share our values, it is their right to choose to take their business elsewhere."

It would be hypocritical of Spark to put out a campaign for the Pride Festival yet ignore or tolerate negative comments, the spokesperson said.

There has been a growing groundswell of support in recent years from large corporates to the gay community as businesses aim to be more socially responsible and inclusive.

Many companies aim to be awarded "the rainbow tick" - a mark of recognition designed to make an organisation a safe, welcoming and inclusive place for people of diverse gender identity and sexual orientation.

Pride Festival is also a big drawcard for corporations with the likes of Fletcher Building, ANZ, TVNZ, ZM and SkyCity sponsoring this year's event.

However, some rainbow community groups have concerns about the extent of corporate involvement in Auckland Pride Festival.

The two-week festival, which celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, started on Friday last week and will run until February 18. It will host about 90 events across the city over two weeks .

JARRED WILLIAMSON/STUFF Auckland Pride Festival started on Friday and will host about 90 events taking place across the city.

Queer creative collective Breaking Boundaries co-manager Tycho Vandenburg said Auckland Pride had an increasing profile for industries that were antagonistic towards the rainbow community.

“We are iffy about what Pride represents, how it is becoming increasingly corporate,” Vandenburg said.

The involvement of police and Department of Corrections in past Pride Festivals sparked protests due to concerns about historic cases of abuse towards queer and transgender people.

ADAM JACOBSON/STUFF Breaking Boundaries co-manager Tycho Vandenburg says rising corporate influence on Auckland Pride Festival is a concern.

ANZ bank was also the target of 'pinkwashing' protests in 2015, when an anonymous group calling themselves 'Queers Against Injustice' threw buckets of pink paint at branches and ATMs around the city.

The activist group claimed the bank used gay symbolism for commercial purposes and used it to obscure their business practices and treatment of workers.

Auckland councillor Richard Hills, who in 2016 became the first openly gay Auckland councillor, said there was a fine line between corporations exploiting pride and celebrating pride.

SUPPLIED Auckland Pride Festival board co-chair Lexie Matheson says she is happy where the festival is heading but there needs to be eternal vigilance.

"My concern is if corporates celebrate pride during February, but then don't live by its values the rest of the year," Hills said.

However, corporate involvement with Auckland Pride Festival had been generally positive, he said.

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LAINE MOGER/STUFF Auckland Councillor Richard Hills says corporate involvement with Auckland Pride Festival has been generally positive.

Auckland Pride Festival board co-chair Lexie Matheson said it had taken the concerns of the community seriously.

"Our community is really upfront with what they feel. What they have been telling us is not to let the parade to be taken over by corporates," Matheson said.

"But we need the money and resources to put this on."

University of Auckland sociology lecturer Ciara Cremin, who transitioned to a woman in 2015, said when pride accepted corporate sponsorship the movement lost part of its intended meaning.

"What they do is deprive the movement of its radical edge and we end up with a very superficial kind of politics that becomes sterile," Cremin said.

"It's good for their brand image and effectively LGBT becomes a brand."