Apple's 'Romeo and Juliet' ad puts iPhone 7 Plus camera in focus

The spot, titled "Romeo and Juliet," plays on Act II Scene II of Shakespeare's masterwork. Known colloquially as the balcony scene, Capulet's Orchard is unquestionably one of the most famous scenes in all of theater. In Apple's take, all roles are played by children.

The ad leads with a cinematic shot: exterior, nighttime, Capulet's estate. Inside, Juliet is alerted to Romeo's presence. She rushes to the balcony, "O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?"

Apple's version skips a few lines, moving straight into Romeo's response, "Call me but love." Interestingly, Romeo glosses over the "and I'll be new baptized" line.

Cut to a contrasting shot of a teary-eyed man holding an iPhone 7 Plus. Instead of a movie version of "Romeo and Juliet" starring a cast of kids, we realize the reenactment is merely a school play as seen through the eyes of Juliet's father, who is in the audience filming.

With proper cinematography giving way to an amateur recording, Apple implies iPhone 7 Plus offers users unrivaled camera quality to capture the most special of moments. Indeed, the ad ends with the tagline "Your movies look like movies on iPhone 7."

"Romeo and Juliet" is the latest in Apple's "practically magic" commercial series which started with the ad "Balloons" in September. Like most consumer companies, Apple is getting into the Christmas spirit. Like holiday themed TV spots of yore, today's ad tugs on the heartstrings, much like last month's ad "Frankie's Holiday."