Retirees have the last laugh in these funny financial ads

Retirees have the last laugh over smug younger people in a new campaign by Canada's HomeEquity Bank, which encourages people to "retire in the home you love."

A trio of comedic ads, by Zulu Alpha Kilo, promotes the company's CHIP Reverse Mortgage and sets out to "empower" retirees by showing them as smart, streetwise and only too aware of the scheming of younger folks to oust them from their homes.

One ad, seen here, depicts a young couple having dinner with her parents. The daughter suggests that her parents might want to downsize to a condo. The parents immediately call their bluff, suggesting they move in with them, seeing as they live in a condo, and spend all their time together. Another spot sees a young couple with a baby standing in front of a home wondering if its ageing owner is getting ready to move out. She overhears their conversation, tells them she's just fine -- and asks them to get off her lawn. In a third ad, a couple get revenge on an overly-persistent real-estate agent who's trying to convince them to sell up. Michael Downing of Partners Film directed the spots.

The campaign also includes ambient executions designed to look like real-estate advertising but instead of promoting sales or open houses, featuring headlines such as: "SOLD On Staying Put."

According to the brand, its research has showed that 93% of people over 65 want to retire in their home. Zak Mroueh, chief creative officer and founder at Zulu Alpha Kilo, says in a statement: "There is a huge misperception about what it means to be retired. People feel patronized when they're pressured into something they don't want to do -- like selling their home. We knew that these situations would be relatable to our audience and that we could really strike a chord with them."

HomeEquity is the latest brand of several to rethink advertising stereotypes in campaigns aimed at older people -- for example in the U.K. insurance brand Sun Life ran a campaign last year in which over 50s insist that they still "have a life."