System access fees are always unpopular, but when Rogers Communications eliminated theirs last month, consumers weren’t quick to rejoice. The carrier instead introduced a Government Regulatory Recovery Fee (GRRF) that would partially replace it for 911 fees, spectrum acquisition and licensing charges, for example. However it’s not a fee that the government requires the company to collect, which Virgin points out in their latest campaign.

Wills & Co. arranged the media buy for ads developed in-house by Virgin Mobile Canada, which will appear in youth-targeting papers across the country like Metro daily for the next four weeks throughout major cities in Canada.

‘I suppose that they hoped by putting ‘Government’ in the title that people would assume the fee is legitimate. It clearly states in Rogers’ own advertising fine print that it is not a tax or charge that the government requires Rogers to collect. Are they deliberately trying to mislead the public?’ wonders Richard Branson, chairman of the Virgin Group and founder of Virgin Mobile Canada, in a release. Leaving this publication wondering if Branson has just launched the first salvo in a Fee Outing sequel to Couch Wars.