I appreciate that you asked in earnest, but the original comment conjures images of "trip-and-fall grifts" and "playing the long con". I usually look at big things like this in terms of where the money's going. But in the context of 'get unwitting customers to show up for free coffee when there's no money on a viral marketing gift card so that they'll spend money anyway', I'd ask 'where's the credit going' -- and no one at Starbucks corporate will claim creating a sleazy confidence game for some career leverage. And I'd also ask Occam for a razor.
