Getting your company column space in the newspapers is always beneficial, even if it is for controversial reasons.
So when a Swindon-based van hire company came up with risqué advert, the subsequent decision by BT telephone company to axe it from their phone book might not be a bad thing.
Rental van manager Stuart Andrews-Boyer from Swindon had decided to turn a bit of banter with his mates into the company’s slogan.



He said: “There are a lot of builder-types that come in here, so there is a lot of banter.
“It became a running joke to refer to me as Stuart the rent boy.”
“Then I thought ‘hang on, we do rent vans and I am a boy.”

And so the rent boys slogan was born, along with matching company rent boy t-shirts.
Stuart continued: “The first thing you think when you want a van is ‘give Stuart the rent boy a ring.’
“The other guys don’t seem to mind wearing the shirts at work either, but you do have to remember to put a coat on when you go to Tesco’s or else you get people giggling at you.
“We were careful not to make it too risqué and you can tell it is just a bit of fun.”
He added: “It makes them remember you”.

The rent boys van rental advert was deemed offensive by British phone company BT who declined to place the ad in their directory. A BT saleswoman who visited the company said that it could lead to people thinking that the M4-based firm in Station Road offered other services.

BT spokesman Chris Orum said: “The decision to accept or reject on grounds of taste and decency was borderline as it was acknowledged that the advert was intended to be humorous. “However, BT advertising policy states that ‘advertisements should contain nothing that is likely to cause offence’ and ‘Illustrations or statements must not be suggestive or capable of misinterpretation.’ “While this can be subjective, BT also has a more specific duty to ensure that none of the adverts published are in any way misleading.”

He continued: “The deciding factor in this case was that the ‘rent boys’ part of the advert was predominant.
“BT advertising policy states ‘If more than one name is used in an advertisement, the business or trading name must be the most prominent name featured in the advertisement.’”