Rather than being the one to do the talking, One Reverse spokesman Henry Winkler sits back to hear from reverse mortgage borrowers in the latest series of TV commercials launched by the lender this month.
In the new commercial, One Reverse, under the parent company Quicken Loans, focuses exclusively on borrower testimonials through conversations with Winkler. Both Winkler and One Reverse collaborated on the commercial, which is currently airing in some test markets before its mainstream launch.
“What is it? How does it work?” These questions, Winkler says, are most often the first ones borrowers have. To find the answers, One Reverse features a sit-down conversation between Winkler, a reverse mortgage borrower and a reverse mortgage originator.
In the development of the concept, Winkler says, the team set out to do something different.
“We talked about how every single one of these commercials looks the same and how we say the same thing,” Winkler told RMD. “We came up with this concept of actually talking to borrowers….no coaching, just straight up.”
The spots feature unscripted conversations between Winkler and borrowers. Ultimately, it hit home, Winkler says.
“It once again clarified for me that I had made the right decision,” he says of representing the products. Previously, his firsthand knowledge came solely from seeing the positive experience his father-in-law had with a reverse mortgage several years ago.
As a widely recognized reverse mortgage spokesman, Winkler says he often fields questions about the product in his day to day interactions. Sitting down with the borrowers to speak with them firsthand helped solidify his perspective, he says.
“What was important to me was I was the audience,” Winkler says. I looked at myself and thought, I’m not sure I’m even being clear. Let’s clear this up. I became the audience and that was important to us; to tell everyone what the [heck] this loan is.”
When he’s not speaking about reverse mortgages, Winkler has been working on a new movie, “Here Comes the Boom,” starring Salma Hayek and Kevin James set to release October 12.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
