It was an orange morning in Toronto and Montreal where Public Mobile, one of Canada’s newest telecom brands, opened 25 stores and revealed its launch campaign.

Public, which features the colour orange in its marketing, is the second new mobile company to hit the market since a government auction made wireless spectrum available to new mobile players. Wind Mobile launched its brand in December, and Mobilicity, formerly known as DAVE Wireless, is expected to launch in weeks.

And while its upstart competitors may anticipate taking on the incumbents, Public wants to serve the approximately 30% of Canadians who don’t currently use mobile phones.

Believing that “under-served” 30% sees cost as a barrier, Public offers four phones with a $40 pre-paid monthly plan that includes unlimited talk and text.

In keeping with its low-cost philosophy, this morning’s press conference to unveil the brand was held far from Toronto’s downtown core at a store location in one of the city’s working-class eastern neighbourhoods.

With coverage areas in Toronto and Montreal, the company began marketing in those cities in February with more than 1,000 unbranded transit ads. The teaser ads featured 18 portraits of people standing against a backdrop with the word “unlimited” superimposed in front of them.

Starting today, those transit facings (618 in Toronto and more than 400 in Montreal) will bear copy outlining the $40 offer and the tag line “Everybody talk.”

“We thought it was important to make the public a part of our advertising,” said Graham Lee of Unitas, the company behind the campaign and Public’s overall brand strategy. “A lot of companies say they’re going to do that, but we have really done that.”

Three television ads, also focusing on everyday people posed as if for a portrait, begin airing today.

“Benita treats people the way she likes to be treated,” says one TV ad featuring a woman in a bakery. “So she’d never demand a $15 muffin access fee.”

“When I was at Rogers, a 30-second TV ad might cost $200,000,” said Alek Krstajic, Public’s CEO who has held senior executive titles at Rogers and Bell. “At Bell, it would be 50% to 60% higher than that. We produced these ads for less than $50,000 an ad because part of what we have to do is have a demonstrable and sustainable cost advantage over the incumbents. That’s how we survive. That’s how we can offer an unlimited flat rate. It’s why we don’t have to have hidden charges.”

Public has created a unique challenge for itself by opening its retail chain before its cellphone network is operational. To draw consumers to its service, it has created a limited time offer of free Canadian long distance for life to those who sign up between now and the network’s activation in May.

Krstajic said he hopes to double the number of retail outlets by that time. The retail chain will be a combination of dealer- and corporately owned stores.