A Migros opponent listens to reason

In 1953, director Franz Schnyder shot the promotional film Familie M Junior. The family drama sought to quash accusations that the new Migros Markets with their enormous range of products were ruining small businesses. The film reached an audience of around 100,000 people.

Four years after the advertising film Familie M, Gottlieb Duttweiler commissions Praesens-Film AG to make a sequel in 1953. Franz Schnyder, who organises the Migros Club house concerts with great success, is the director of Familie M Junior. Emil ‘Hegi’ Hegetschweiler and the cabaret artist Margrit Läubli are taken on.
With Familie M Junior, Migros stands up to the accusations that it is endangering the existence of the middle-class retailers, including those in the non-food sector, with the new Migros Markets and their wide range of products. At the centre of the story is Peter Moser, an enthusiastic Migros employee. He wants to marry Jacqueline, but her father, the shirt manufacturer Borel, sees Migros as his greatest enemy since Migros also sells shirts. As a last resort, Moser turns to his employer Gottlieb Duttweiler. Following Dutti’s good advice, he explains the company’s principles and is able to convince the old Borel of the advantages of Migros. The shirt manufacturer subsequently lowers his prices, and achieves – just like Migros – higher turnover. He also gives his blessing to the young couple.
The film’s plot is used to bring the blessings of Migros closer to the audience through documentary-like recordings. Familie M Junior celebrates its premier on 8 November 1953 in the Apollo cinema in Zurich and reaches – especially at cooperative events – about 100,000 viewers.