Equitable Bank's Mortgage Spot Shows the Power of Friendship Between Home and Owner

Equitable Bank, provider of the lowest reverse mortgage rates in Canada, debuts a new creative platform that aims to connect on an emotional level with older Canadian homeowners who might be feeling stressed about their finances and retirement outlook.  

In the campaign film, Equitable Bank takes a backseat to the two main characters, Frances the homeowner and her fancy-pants house, but shows up as the glue that helps her and her long-time home stay together. 

Directed by Ryan Ebner, via production company Feels Like Home, the :60 second film opens with Frances telling us what the reverse mortgage from Equitable Bank means to her, and what it means to her house. In an unexpected twist for the viewer, Frances’ house begins to speak in a stereotypical snobby, accent borrowed from old television programs that the target would remember like Dynasty and Frasier. The two banter back and forth and show the strong emotional bond between the two long-term friends. A warm hug and sprinkler tears close out the spot before reminding viewers to call Equitable  Bank for the best reverse mortgage rates in Canada. 

“The strategy behind the work is rooted in research that showed many homeowners are worried about  being retirement poor with increased feelings of uncertainty and loss of control of their autonomy, says Dustin Rideout, CSO at The Hive. “This insight brought forth the idea that a reverse mortgage from Equitable Bank can help them feel house rich instead.” 

“In order to connect with this demographic, that is used to being advertised to in a very sterile and matter of fact way, we wanted to go in the opposite direction and address their very real fears in a supportive and relatable yet humorous way”, says Caleb Rubin, VP marketing at EQ Bank 

“The star of our campaign is a boisterous fancy-pants house that thinks he is rrrrrrrich”, says Sacha Ouimet, co-ECD at The Hive. “We needed to be clear that this house played into the snobby rich person archetype. But he isn’t really rich, he just thinks he is, which makes him kinda relatable and charming.” 

The film launched regionally and will run in :60, :30, and :15 second versions across traditional television, DRTV, OLV, and social media.