How Multiple Peter Mansbridges Came Together to Make Canadians Rethink Retirement
On paper, retirement is sort of a difficult concept to grasp. Sure, the idea of not working every day is appealing - who doesn’t want more free time - but leaving one’s field and just suddenly having life flip on its head is, in many ways, daunting.
However, more and more, Canadians are getting to the age where, ideally, they might want to start considering their options. And according to HomeEquity Bank, by the end of 2024, people aged 55 and up will account for one third of the country’s population, so really, it’s a relevant thinking point for a larger demographic than ever before.
To this end, the bank wanted to help Canadians ease their worries about this possible future, and open up a conversation of what people can actually do with their golden years. And by working alongside agency Zulu Alpha Kilo (ZAK), the two created a piece of work centred around one of Canada’s most famous retirees - former news anchor turned HomeEquity Bank strategic communications consultant, Peter Mansbridge. Featuring multiple versions of the news anchor holding a press conference with… yes, you guessed it, another version of Peter Mansbridge, the work is humorous, but also serves as a poignant way to hold the discussion of why Canadians need to consider what retirement actually might mean for them.
So, to learn how this all came to life, LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sits down with the team from ZAK, as well as HomeEquity Bank’s CMO and senior vice president, customer experience, Vivianne Gauci, for a chat.
LBB> Tell us how this campaign got started! What was the brief?
Vivianne> Many retirees in Canada don’t understand what a reverse mortgage is, and are sceptical about whether or not it’s a good idea for them. Our brief to Zulu was to leverage our partnership with Peter Mansbridge – a proven trusted voice for this audience – to educate Canadians in their golden years about why the CHIP Reverse Mortgage is something they should consider. Zulu is a partner we trust because they understand our audience, our brand, and they continue to develop break-through creative to deliver our key messages in a way that connects with our audience.
LBB> Tell us more about your partnership with Peter Mansbridge, and how he became your strategic communications consultant! How are you working with him to further the business?
Vivianne> Following our ‘In Conversation’ series with Peter from 2021, we saw great success in communicating with retirees. Those videos successfully broke through with the target audience, generating over 2 million views, and a double-digit lift in brand search volume.
As we continue to educate Canadians 55 years and older, we wanted to continue the success in working with Peter Mansbridge, and brought him on as a strategic communications consultant.
LBB> And specifically, why is emphasising the importance of retirement planning so important to the brand at this present time?
Vivianne> By the end of 2024, people aged 55 and older will account for a third of Canada’s population. This campaign is about shifting outdated perceptions on retirement – that this is not a time to ‘hang it all up’ - and provide accessible and relevant financial education and solutions for Canadian homeowners.
LBB> With this in mind, how did you approach the writing process? Did you work closely with Peter Mansbridge to create a realistic and relatable script?
ZAK> Working with HomeEquity Bank, we narrowed our ideas down to two potential scripts for Peter’s review. He loved both. So, we shot both. The second one will air a bit later (we won’t spoil it here).
In particular, there was a big emphasis on the fact that we really needed to get Peter’s voice right. And I don’t just mean the lousy Mansbridge impersonation the writer used to present the script that Peter, graciously, found amusing. Ultimately, we worked with Peter on the final draft to ensure the language and message felt true to his voice.
Vivianne> Because one of the main barriers was the lack of information and biases against the reverse mortgage product we offer, when working with Zulu, we wanted to approach the work with an honest and credible tone, to capture our audience's trust, but in a way that would still entertain. We wanted a campaign that would really encourage Canadians to feel empowered to ask questions about their retirement, and to understand the opportunities and possibilities that can be unlocked with a reverse mortgage. The press conference setting felt like the perfect analogy for showing all the different questions that will pop up in your head – a sea of Peter Mansbridges asking Peter Mansbridge about retirement.
LBB> Tell us more about this! Where did the idea of multiple Peters come from, and how did you balance humour and seriousness within that scenario?
ZAK> The script was originally quite different. It was going to be a one-on-one interview between a young Peter Mansbridge of 1988 and the retired Peter Mansbridge of today. But, issues with the de-aging technology required us to quickly come up with an alternative. A happy accident, as a press room packed with Mansbridges is far more attention-grabbing.
While the visual is inherently funny, this was never meant to be a truly comedic spot. The concept is rooted in an emotional message about retirement uncertainty, and we needed that message to be taken seriously. This required a level of comedic restraint and a sophisticated look for the film that our director, Oren, delivered beautifully.
And what led you to partner up with We Are Undivided’s Oren Kaplan for this? What made him the right director for the job?
ZAK> We were thrilled to work with Oren! It was a very technically complicated shoot, and he brought his VFX experience and talent for problem-solving to make it all happen. Also, it never hurts when your director is just a blast to be around.
LBB> Tell us about the time on set! Where did you shoot, how long did it take, and do you have any anecdotes?
ZAK> We shot two spots over two days at Legacy Studios. We needed a huge space for the production team to construct both sets, and this studio was big… like, European cathedral big. You take a trip to the bathroom and by the time you’re back, the spot’s already been wrapped, edited, and shipped.
LBB> Notably, you shot Peter in each position he appears in the final script, and then edited it together in post. So, what was this process like? How did you navigate shooting the Peter variants, and as a whole, what was working with him like?
ZAK> The colossal task of multiplying Mr. Mansbridge required Peter to switch seats, adjust his wardrobe, and react to perfectly timed directions (‘Look at the empty space over your left shoulder and nod in agreement’) over and over and over again. Then we switch angles and repeat the whole process. But as the most filmed Canadian of all time, Peter is no stranger to the filmmaking process. This kind of VFX-heavy spot may have been new to him, but his confidence in front of camera, patience with all the setup, and impeccable line delivery made everything go far easier than it had any right to.
LBB> Building on this, how did you work with Alter Ego to bring the final spot to life, and how long did the post process take?
ZAK> Our friends at Alter Ego were involved from the start. Right from pre-pre-production, they were providing insight on what practical steps we could take to make the VFX look as realistic as possible. And on the shoot day, they were on set supporting Oren and running real-time tests to ensure we were capturing everything we needed.
LBB> What challenges have you faced during this project? How did you overcome them?
ZAK> When it came to the number of Mansbridges, our philosophy was, the more Peters, the better. But more Peters meant more setup time on set, and more wardrobe changes, and more VFX work, and more effort on Peter’s part. It took a lot of smart storyboarding, clever production considerations, and meticulous scheduling from our brilliant producers to achieve our desired level of Peters.
Vivianne> Empowering with humour has been a successful element to our brand campaigns historically, it was challenging at first to incorporate humour during such uncertain economic times. But as research has continually shown, Canadians 55 and up value tasteful, well-thought-out content, so long as it hits the right note, and we think this campaign is pitch perfect.
LBB> What lessons have you learned in the making of this campaign?
Vivianne> Relying on our 35 plus years of experience provides us with insights and understanding of our demographic like no other. Staying true to those insights, while keeping the customer at the heart of it all, always leads to powerful campaigns.
ZAK> That just because ‘The Parent Trap’ did it in 1961 doesn’t mean cloning an actor is going to be easy today.
LBB> How have people reacted to this campaign?
Vivianne> The first week has shown a lot of initial positive reactions, increased site traffic and positive press coverage highlighting how the campaign is focused on getting Canadians to rethink their retirement.
LBB> How does this campaign fit into HomeEquity Bank’s plans for 2024?
Vivianne> This campaign is aligned closely with our objectives for the year ahead. We want to continue building awareness for our product, continue to cement HomeEquity Bank’s position as the leading provider of reverse mortgages, and empower Canadian homeowners 55 and up to consider all of their options in retirement.
LBB> Finally, since creating it, has this campaign made you rethink your retirement approach?
ZAK> When you hear retirement, you immediately think of all the clichés. Even the word ‘retired; sounds like an ending. Working through this campaign is really putting the real possibilities of retirement into perspective.
