Even if the Facebook or Twitter postings in ads show brands apologizing about missteps or customer complaints, advertisers may still benefit. Today, the more honest and human companies appear, the more likely consumer are to like them and stick with them. Still, the results can be unpredictable, are not always beneficial, as Starbucks learned. Starbucks runs contests on Twitter regularly and uses the service to spend free product samples. In 2009, Starbucks launched a social media contest, which was essentially a scavenger hunt for advertising posters. Users who found the posters and posted photos of them on Twitter would win a prize. The campaign backfired. At the urging of anti-Starbucks protesters, users flooded Starbucks, Twitter feed with pictures of employees and protesters holding signs criticizing Starbucks’ labor practices