OPINION

IN THIS cynical, opportunistic age, it’s always great to be reminded that there are still good Samaritans out there, helping strangers because it’s a nice thing to do, with no thought of tawdry personal gain.

Or so I thought when I heard the story of Ray Johnstone, an 85-year-old Aussie bloke who’d lost his fishing mate, and wanted a new one, so he posted an ad on Gumtree.

We all know a Ray, don’t we? An everyday Aussie legend who likes the simple things in life, like chilling by the water, hoping he’ll get a bite. Enjoying himself, the way we all hope to when we retire.

His ad went viral, of course. This website covered it, and the ad clocked up thousands of hits courtesy of social media. “IllFishWithRay” trended as a hashtag, because it touched people.

Earlier this week, 22-year-old Mati Batsinilas stepped up, and flew Ray and his grandson up to Stradbroke Island for the fishing trip of a lifetime. A dream come true. Good old — sorry, young — Mati didn’t even know how much the flights cost.

So, what was it about? Just a gesture “out of good will”, as Mati put it when he spoke to news.com.au? Or was there perhaps more to it?

Mati runs a fishing group called Bats Fishing, sponsored by BCF. And if you look at Mati’s Facebook page, you’ll see a photo of him talking to a TV camera wearing a top with Bats Fishing and BCF written on it. Look at the Bats Fishing Facebook page and you’ll see that they’ve shared that Channel Seven report. It’s 95 seconds, during which multiple family members are seen in the same branded gear.

“He may not have caught a big one by himself today,” Seven News reporter Vivien Von Drehnen says. “But he’s hooked something even more rare — friends for life.”

Let’s hope so. But I’ve got to say — when I go out fishing with friends, there generally aren’t news cameras in attendance, and my “friends” aren’t draped with logos advertising their business.

Maybe that’s too cynical, and this is one of those situations where everyone’s a winner. Ray got an objectively valuable trip, complete with photos of him looking slightly bewildered by all the hoopla. The Bats Fishing crew got publicity out of it, and media outlets got a feel-good story.

But this kind of thing happens so often that readers could be forgiven for becoming cynical. A couple of months ago, Twitter was buzzing with the news that a betting agency’s social media manager, Dave, had been fired, and was running rampant with the company credit card before they could cut it off. He offered to order people free pizzas, and some people apparently got them.

Of course, it was a hoax. “Dave” was just a way of getting our attention for less than the cost of a traditional marketing campaign. A job well done? Perhaps, except that anyone who enjoyed it at first probably felt a little nauseated when the truth was revealed — I certainly did.

Smart companies now don’t just buy traditional ads, they create events, content and “moments” to try and interest consumers. The audience were once passive recipients of these messages, but now marketers hit the jackpot when we share their content — as so many of us did with this year’s Australia Day lamb ad.

Widowed pensioner's internet search for a fishing mate Widowed pensioner's internet search for a fishing mate

This kind of viral marketing is everywhere nowadays, and that’s happened because consumers have become immune to many traditional advertising techniques.

Whether they were motivated by generosity, marketing savvy or some combination of the two, the Batsinalis family have done what every business owner is supposed to do, and pursued an opportunity to showcase their brand in the national media. They and Ray have both done well out of our interest in his story.

“The idea of this trip, it wasn’t just about fishing. It was about getting him up here to bring a smile on his face,” Mr Batsinalis told news.com.au. Well, mission accomplished.

But I hope Ray Johnstone can find a fishing mate based near his home in South Australia, who’ll take him out without a camera crew.

NOTE: A previous version of this story stated that Matis Batsinilas ran a fishing business. News.com.au has since been informed that Bats Fishing is actually a family fishing group that is sponsored by BCF and other local businesses.

Dom Knight is a writer, broadcaster and co-founder of The Chaser. Continue the conversation on Twitter @domknight