Former news anchor Peter Mansbridge has been tapped by HomeEquity Bank to lead its new “Ask Yourself” campaign and guide Canadians through rethinking their retirement.

A new mass campaign features Mansbridge, the former host of the CBC’s flagship nightly newscast The National, being interviewed in a press conference where he’s asked tough questions about his future by an audience full of Peter Mansbridges.

The campaign’s aim is to encourage Canadians to ask themselves what retirement could mean for them, to generate more discussion among Canadians about how they can spend their golden years, and to consider HomeEquity’s CHIP Reverse Mortgage program.

HomeEquity Bank senior VP of customer experience and CMO Vivianne Gauci says the campaign is aligned with HomeEquity’s tradition of celebrating empowered Canadians who are more than 55 years old.

“Our ongoing partnership with Peter Mansbridge is helping to inspire Canadians to challenge the status quo of retirement,” Gauci tells strategy. “The campaign helps take aim at the ageist idea that retirement is a time to ‘hang it all up,’ empowering Canadians to instead seize the many opportunities life over 55 can bring.”

The campaign includes a 30-second TV spot, which began airing on Jan. 8. It will run on TV, digital and social media. The campaign was developed by Zulu Alpha Kilo. OMD Canada handled media, with Zulumatic serving as the campaign’s digital media agency. To create the ad, Mansbridge acted out the full commercial from each seat in the press conference, which the visual effects team at Alter Ego combined into the final ad.

Mansbridge was recently named strategic communications consultant for HomeEquity. He previously worked with the bank as part of its 2021 “In Conversation with Peter Mansbridge” video series, where he interviewed bank president and CEO Steve Ranson and EVP Yvonne Ziomecki-Fisher. His questions covered facts and fiction on reverse mortgages, aging in place and different methods of affording retirement at home.

Gauci says research with focus groups showed HomeEquity that an association with Mansbridge helped more people to consider using the bank and its CHIP Reverse Mortgage.

“Planning for retirement can be very personal, and many people understandably don’t always know how to evaluate what’s right for them,” Gauci says. “We’re proud to be collaborating with one of the most trusted interviewers in Canada to help guide and empower people to live retirement on their terms with confidence.”