The 54-year-old from Brentwood, Essex will be splashed across adverts around the country making it almost impossible to avoid him.
The boss of his own specialist telecommunications business – specialising in telecomms, data cabling, CCTV and door entry – Ken was picked from thousands of customers to be one of just four “faces” of a new ad campaign for the Volkswagen Transporter.
An image of him with his black van bearing the name of his firm, Five Star Comms, will start to appear across the country from today.
Ken and three other small businesses will star in the campaign with the slogan “We never forget the most important name on our vans. Yours” and will share the equivalent of £2.5 MILLION worth of free advertising as a result.
The other businesses involved are a heating specialist, locksmith and a flooring contractor. The initiative is to highlight how the van company is working in partnership with its customers.
Ken set up his business in 1994 and now employs two part-time engineers. Most of his work is in the commercial sector but he also works with homeowners looking for high-spec jobs – including the odd celebrity client.
All the businesses taking part in the campaign were recommended by their local Volkswagen Van Centres from across the UK.
Ken said "When I first heard from the ad agency I took it with a pinch of salt. Then they told me I would be famous for the whole of the summer. It only hit home when at the photo shoot. It took so long to do it, I realised it was serious. I’m really hoping that people will see the adverts and give me a chance to quote."