Dutti's life in 90 seconds

90-second advert "Merci, Adele and Dutti."

15 May: The final dress rehearsal

Monika Schmid is a master of her trade. The costume designer has worked on the production of numerous films and TV series. The costumes used in the reformation drama 'Zwingli' won her a Swiss Film Award in 2019. This highly experienced expert knows exactly how to transform actors into historical figures.

She has been working on a film project for several months now, the result of which will be a mere 90 seconds long. This project is the latest Migros advert, which tells the story of company founder Gottlieb Duttweiler in fast motion. Schmid takes this project just as seriously as a feature-length film. With her team, she has set up a huge costume warehouse in a former logistics unit on Zurich's Pfingstweidstrasse.

The expert leads us into a hall. Blouses, skirts and petticoats, handbags, pearl necklaces, ties and entire suits hang here row after row in the bright white glow of fluorescent lamps. The selection of headpieces and headdresses alone is enormous, ranging from flat caps to elegant Borsalino hats.

In total, there are several thousand items of clothing and accessories from the 1920s to the 1950s. Where did Schmid get all of these items? "We have rented them on loan from costume houses all over Europe," she explains. "You need to foster relationships and build trust over many years to ensure successful collaboration. These costume houses want to be sure that they will get everything back in pristine condition."

Today is an important day for Monika Schmid – the last big dress rehearsal before filming. All of the actors and actresses are putting on the clothes they will soon be wearing in front of the camera. "The actors must feel comfortable in their costumes," says Schmid. "Only then will it ultimately look true-to-life."

What she means by this becomes crystal clear when Andrew Greenough takes his turn. The Brittish actor, who is little known in Switzerland, plays the older Gottlieb Duttweiler in the advert. He was cast for the role because of his striking resemblance to the Migros founder. During dress rehearsal, he slips into a three-piece suit that dates back to 1939. And only now does the transformation become perfect: it is as though the physical embodiment of Dutti has risen from the dead.

15 May: Treasures from second-hand shops

Change of location: We now find ourselves in a warehouse in Glattbrugg. Here set designer Su Erdt and her team have spent months putting together a vast collection of historical props. These include antique office furniture, mechanical typewriters, dial-operated telephones and tube TV sets. "We found what we were looking for in various second-hand shops and at flea markets," reveals Erdt. "We also bought a few items at auction on Ricardo."

However, the advert also requires items that can no longer be found anywhere – for example, the iconic 'Ohä' washing powder, which Dutti launched in 1931. Erdt's team used historical photos from the Migros archive as a template to recreate several cardboard detergent boxes.

The absolute star of the prop collection is a Ford T that was driven around Zurich as a mobile shop 100 years ago. In 1925, the year Migros was founded, it was one of five sales vehicles that Dutti used to bring affordable products directly to customers. The vintage car belongs to the Migros Zurich cooperative. A sceneographer has carefully covered the precious car with a wafer-thin layer of soap and healing clay. "The car mustn't look like a shiny museum piece," explains the set designer. "It has to look like something that's used every day."

You can tell Su Erdt is really looking forward to filming, but is also feeling a little tense. Her props will soon be put to the test in front of the camera.

21 May, morning: Action on the Münsterbrücke

Today is day three of the four-day shoot and probably the most important date in the film production schedule. Director Jan-Eric Mack is determined to capture the 15-second opening scene of the advert. It is told in just a few sentences: Dutti and his wife are travelling in a Ford sales vehicle in the year Migros was founded. The pair are brimming with energy and optimism because they firmly believe in their big idea – they plan to turn the rigid Swiss retail sector upside down with mobile shops.

A great deal of organisation is required to ensure the journey back in time to 1925 is a success: Zurich's Münsterbrücke is closed with security guards in fluorescent orange waistcoats cordoning it off. Two cameras capture the scene from different angles. The filming locations have been chosen so that a row of historic houses on the left bank of the Limmat appear in the background. The location is a perfect fit for the year in which Migros was founded – only a red neon sign has to be digitally edited out at a later stage.

The assistant director calls out 'action' and a piece of the past is brought to life. Dutti and his wife Adele stand on the bridge in front of the Ford T, presenting their wares to passers-by. Suddenly, two little rascals whizz past on a rickety bike and knock items off the sales counter out of sheer spite. Paper bags burst, with pasta and rice spilling onto the pavement. This scene clearly shows that Gottlieb and Adele had to go through much hardship before Migros became successful.

It takes several attempts before the scene is finally right: one time, the passers-by are grouped incorrectly and obscure the action; another time, the reflection of a security guard's orange waistcoat appears in the windscreen of the vintage car. Meanwhile, storm clouds gather over Zurich and a downpour threatens. The director remains composed and carries on until everything is completed. "The gloomy weather was actually a gift," he reflects afterwards with a grin. "It fitted the scene perfectly."

21 May, afternoon: Bad news for Dutti

In the afternoon, the entire film team relocates to the time-honoured Villa Hirschengraben near the University of Zurich. A scene is to be shot here that takes place in Gottlieb Duttweiler's private office in 1937. At the time, Migros was going through a challenging period: urged on by small and medium-sized retailers, the federal government had issued the so-called "ban on branch stores" in 1933, which remained in force until 1945. Dutti's aspiring company was no longer allowed to open new shops.

In the scene, the Migros founder, played by Andrew Greenough, still dreams of opening new stores. He says they should have a sophisticated layout and offer customers a perfect shopping environment. In his office, Dutti is seen engrossed in the plans. Everything looks in keeping with the time because Su Erdt's team has furnished the room so well. The grandiose desk is perfectly suited to a captain of industry. On the tabletop, there are stamps and ink pads, wire baskets full of documents and a paperweight in the design of a metal horse. A wall of books can be seen in the background. Against this backdrop, Dutti appears supremely assured and almost unassailable.

But then his wife Adele - played by Jacqueline Davis - enters the room and presents her husband with a newspaper containing some bad news: the federal government has just extended the ban on the opening of new stores. Dutti stares in bewilderment at the headline, then goes berserk, screws up the store plans and hurls them across the room.

As in all of the scenes in the advert, the actors do not speak. The short film is shot without any dialogue. This means a great deal of emotion and subtext is conveyed through body language, and in this scene, it takes many attempts to get it right. Dutti's angry outburst is convincing, but Adele stands by passively and frozen – almost as if she is afraid of her husband. Jan-Eric Mack gives new stage directions and Jacqueline Davis changes her posture. She puts her hands on her hips and now looks as if she and her husband are both outraged by the unfair branch store ban.

Finally, the perfect scene is shot. The film crew is pleased – yet a little wistful at the same time. This is because the intensive period of filming will soon be over. The director sums up the mood in camp: "We would all love to carry on and make a feature-length Dutti film."

The Making-of "Merci, Adele and Dutti."