NJ Company Throws Smiles At Drivers On Rt. 38

MT. LAUREL, NJ (CBS) -- A South Jersey company known for renting party tents and power tools is also known for the entertaining signs it puts outside.

Why put Rent a Rototiller on your outdoor sign when you can put, If you eat pasta and antipasto, are you still hungry?

"It's something that we do because it's fun," says owner Max Fisher at the Taylor Rental Company on Route 38, near I-295.

They have been having fun since 1970, when Fisher's late father, Bob, first started posting funny and thought-provoking messages.

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Fisher says it's an art to be amusing in 50 characters or less:

"You have to put them up so that they can be read pretty quickly and the thought gotten across pretty quickly, because people are driving by," he notes.

Max did it for years and now his son Craig puts up the monthly messages.

"Yeah, there are some classics," recalls Craig.  "Like, 'Is it possible to be gruntled?'  That was a favorite."

And Craig likes the holiday season.

"A few years ago I put up, 'Fa la la la la la la la la,' " he says.

Craig makes up some of the sayings, and borrows others that are e-mailed to him.  He says one recent sign caused people to stop in and shake his hand.

"That happened to be, 'Socialism is the equal distribution of poverty.' "

Do the messages generate business?  Craig says you never know -- people who need to rent something just might remember the place with the funny signs.

Reported by Mike DeNardo, KYW Newsradio 1060.