Be careful about offering unlimited free items. Sunny Co. Clothing company learned this lesson the hard way when it posted a message on Instagram.

Naturally, nearly "everyone" reposted the image hoping for a free suit, and people complained about their feeds being over-run with red bathing suits.

The company eventually posted some rules: "Due to the viral volume of participants, we reserve the right to cap the promotion if deemed necessary." They also warned of delays because of the "overwhelming volume of orders."

One good thing did come from the situation: Sunny Co.'s followers increased from 24.1 to 458,000. Now, whether that translates into sales is another question.

Discussion:

• The company could have had some fun with this. What ideas do you have?
• Should they have known better, or was the outcome too hard to predict?