The mobile operator has taken every ad space in The Times this Friday to launch the initiative. In a dramatic switch to focus on value, it replaces the 'Learn' campaign, which centres on its in-store phone trainers.
Customers will also be offered two reserve calls when they run out of credit. This offer and the 1p text message deal will be available to pay-as-you-go customers.
Orange is throwing more than £5m behind 'Fair' in August alone, 60% of which is being spent on outdoor media. Created by Mother, ads will also appear in radio, press, point-of-sale and below-the-line, and are likely to run into early autumn. "This will be the biggest outdoor campaign ever seen in Britain," claimed Rob Rees, Orange head of brand communications.
The deal with The Times' owner, News International, includes the distribution of free copies of the paper at mainline and London Underground stations this Friday.
The initiative marks a major shift from the 'Learn' strategy, which aimed to educate customers on how to make more use of their phones and continues in-store.
Mother's 'Hard-nosed Businessman' and 'Learn' ads have attracted numerous detractors, most notably Orange founder Hans Snook, who described the former as "absolutely the worst things I have ever seen".
Orange claims the 'Learn' ads, which featured a boy called Dylan, were never due to run long term.
Other 'Fair' deals include 1,000 off-peak minutes a month for £20. From August 8, Orange will become the first network to allow pay-as-you-go customers to pay by direct debit and to offer 10% extra airtime.
Orange's UK customer base shrunk by 54,000 period on period, according to this week's half-year results.
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