Behind the AI Commercial Hiltl "Let Animals Grow Old"

When the door opens at Stories in Zurich's Seefeld district, a curtain also opens: AI-made commercials are no longer just possible - they are becoming possible to tell. Hiltl's "Let Animals Grow Old" is just such a case. m&k has already reported on this. The movie plays with a brand-related truth that is immediately understandable: Eating vegetarian means animals live longer. And if animals live longer, they - like us humans - will at some point develop the very specific side effects of ageing. Stairs become an issue. The water basin becomes a rehab zone. And a rollator is suddenly no longer a prop, but a part of everyday life.

The idea came from Ruf Lanz. It was realized by Stories - directed by Tobias Fueter. And that's exactly what Fueter talks about in the Director's Talk with m&k VJ Beat Hürlimann: not just about the commercial, but about what's happening in the background. Namely, a change in production that has quietly begun in advertising - and is now becoming visible.

When AI suddenly has a heart - and craftsmanship

The commercial is AI. But it doesn't look like "AI for AI's sake". It's like a movie that first has a story - and only then a toolset. In conversation with Stories, it quickly becomes clear that this is not about a quick effect. It's about staging. About characters. About rhythm. About the classic question: What is a good scene?

Fueter describes the appeal of the concept with almost childlike enthusiasm: animals are not simply "generated", they are cast. Who would be the priest? Who would be the bath attendant? Who wears what - and why does this particular character fit this particular role?

This is storytelling at its core: characters plus situation plus timing. The only difference is that the shoot doesn't take place in the studio, but on a digital set.

"Digital turning" instead of a set: the process remains, the workbench changes

One of the most exciting points in the interview: The production process is surprisingly familiar.

The idea, initial meetings, coordination, look & feel, PPM, decisions on locations, characters, camera angles - everything remains the same. But the crucial part no longer happens between camera, crew and lighting. Instead, it happens in an iterative process on the computer.

Stories is therefore not talking about "prompting", but about digital filming.

And that has consequences: Anyone who believes that AI automatically means "finished tomorrow" will be kindly curbed here. Because even digitally, a movie that really works is not created by chance. It comes from decisions - and time.

The tool question is understandable. But it misses the point.

According to Fueter, "Which tool did you use to make this?" is the most common question that comes up everywhere at the moment. At Stories, it almost causes an internal smile - because from the film people's point of view, it's roughly the same as: "What camera did you shoot with?"

Because the point is: it wasn't one tool. It was a whole toolbox. And that includes classic craftsmanship: Photoshop, DaVinci, post-production, corrections, additions, fine-tuning.

In this logic, AI is not a magic button. It is material. And material needs to be guided.

Consistency is feasible - but taste remains the real discipline

One word comes up again and again in the interview, quite unpretentiously but very precisely: taste.

Consistency with Characters? Getting better. The tools are catching up. But consistency is not the feature that makes a movie stand out. Many can do that now.

The real question remains: What does it look like? How does it feel? When is it funny - and when does it tip over? Why close now, why wide now? How long does the scene last before it has to move on?

In the end, it is not the machine that decides, but what the director has always decided: Timing, rhythm, perspective, tonality.

From this perspective, the success of Hiltl's "Let Animals Grow Old" seems almost logical: a strong idea - and an implementation that doesn't run over it, but carries it.

Six months vs. six weeks: What AI suddenly makes possible

"Hiltl Animals" is also such an apt case because it solves a production problem that is well known in the industry: big idea, big picture, but limited reality.

In the interview, Fueter talks very specifically about what would have happened without AI: lots of photorealistic animals, lots of locations, lots of settings, high VFX complexity. Classic thinking: months of preparation and a budget that slips into other spheres.

With AI, this became a project that could be realized in around six weeks - and within a framework that makes sense for a brand like Hiltl in the first place.

The interesting part is not "cheaper". But rather: possible.

Which briefings cry out for AI - and which are better not

In the interview, Stories draws a clear line: AI is not a default. It is a production method that suits certain tasks.

AI is particularly strong with big cinematic ideas that used to be "too expensive", with many locations, high expenditure and special effects, with characters and settings that could hardly be realized in real life, as well as with visual world-building, where scale and imagination are required.

And at the same time, there are limits - not only technically, but also emotionally and ethically.

If a brand wants to convey authenticity through real faces, real acting, real closeness, AI currently quickly seems like a shortcut that you see. And sometimes like one that you don't want to see.

There is also a second level: transitions in the industry. Professional roles that are coming under pressure. Fueter is not speaking alarmistically here, but with a noticeable sense of responsibility: as long as real production makes sense, it should be allowed to take place.

Stories Studios: Think in-house, shape faster

The project also made something more visible that has been growing at Stories for some time: Stories Studios.

The idea behind this is not to "do everything yourself", but to be closer. Fewer intermediate stages. Less ping-pong via external levels. More direct coordination between director, creative director, agency and client.

AI is reinforcing precisely this trend: when part of the production process becomes digital, in-house expertise becomes not just a nice-to-have, but a strategic lever - for speed, control and consistency.

The video for the article: Director's Talk plus short tour

The main part of this article is the video interview: In it, Tobias Fueter talks about the entire process behind Hiltl "Let Animals Grow Old" - from the idea to the production logic to the question of what AI really changes for directing and craft. And by the way, there's a little tour through the world of stories: less scenery, more everyday life of a film production that is in the process of reorganizing its tools.

Conclusion

Hiltl "Let Animals Grow Old" does not show an "AI future", but a very concrete present: AI cannot automatically make advertising better. But it can make more ideas possible - and it pushes boundaries that previously caused projects to fail.

The curtain rises. And behind it, quite classically, there is still the decisive factor: a good idea - and people who know how to tell it.

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The credentials for the Hiltl commercial Hiltl "Let Animals Grow Old"

Responsible at Hiltl: Patrick Jungi (Managing Director), Simone Saner (Head of Marketing), Rolf Hiltl (overall responsibility) Responsible at Ruf Lanz: Markus Ruf (Creative Direction), Mario Moosbrugger (Art Direction) Responsible at Stories: Tobias Fueter (Director), Yves Bollag (Executive Producer), Michèle Seligmann (Producer), Stories Studios (AI Production), Adrian Frutiger (Music Arrangement & Production), Carol Maag (Licensing) Song original: "Only You", Words & Music by Buck Ram & Ande Rand / © Wildwood Music Inc. - Courtesy of Robert Mellin Musikverlag GmbH & Co. KG.