Equitable Bank has created a house that acts like a human to reassure older Canadians about their finances.

In its hero spot, a homeowner conveys what a reverse mortgage from Equitable Bank means to her, then banters with her house, which has shutters for eyelids and a garage door for a mouth.

The house begins to get an inflated sense of self-worth during the conversation, which is meant to convey the emotional bond between home and homeowner.

“In order to connect with this demographic – typically 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 of marketing at Equitable Bank.

“The strategy behind the work is rooted in research that showed many homeowners are worried about being poor in retirement, with increased feelings of uncertainty and loss of control of their autonomy,” says Dustin Rideout, CSO at The Hive, which EQ Bank made its AOR last March.

Rideout tells strategy the campaign insight is built around the idea that a reverse mortgage can help older consumers feel house-rich instead.

The timing of the campaign is really a factor-of-life-stage meets economic downturn, Rideout says. “The audience would already be feeling this way as they consider retirement options, but you can imagine how this is pronounced with current economic challenges we are all navigating.”

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

According to Rideout, the target’s media consumption habits are consistent with what one would expect. “There are some [media] that are emerging – such as podcasts,” says Rideout. “However, this first effort focusses on video channels that are more aligned to fairly predictable consumption.”

The media is handled by its partners at Epitaph.