The e-commerce giant is looking to eat up a bigger slice of post-Thanksgiving consumer pie today with its notorious Black Friday deals. 

Amazon this week debuted a couple of playful new Shakespeare-inspired spots to promote its Holiday sales. 

The TV commercials add a medieval spin on the classic trope of awkward and tense family gatherings by bringing the famously feuding Montagues and Capulets into one room for some seasonal festivities. 

“Getting the in-laws together for Christmas can be a teensy bit awkward,” a voiceover actor relays against a flute-forward melody. One man slams his goblet down on the table pointedly while another not-so-subtly sharpens a knife. The tense scene unfolds as Romeo and Juliet eye their guests anxiously. 

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet aren’t the first fabled characters to front an Amazon campaign this year. Last month, ahead of Halloween, the company ran a spot in the same style and structure featuring Red Riding Hood, who transforms the wolf into a playful pup with a squeaky toy she bought on Amazon. The spot was especially popular: the 30-second version garnered more than 5.6m views on YouTube. 

The retail giant’s Black Friday event runs from November 18 through November 28 and offers shoppers the opportunity to snag popular products for as much as half off. 

Amazon’s seasonal marketing efforts are in full swing. Earlier this month, the company unveiled a touching holiday spot directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi called ‘Joy is Made,’ which sees a young girl enamored by a Christmas Snow Globe. Seeing her love of the object – as the girl totes the snow globe from dentist appointment to dinner table – her father recreates the snowy scene for her within the family greenhouse. The ad was created in partnership with creative agency Lucky Generals.

Check out the best 2022 holiday ads so far and subscribe to The Drum’s daily US newsletter here.