emotional appeal

Type of advertising in which the copy is designed to stimulate one's emotions, rather than one's sense of the practical or impractical. When copywriters use emotional appeal in advertising, they are attempting to appeal to the consumer's psychological, social, or emotional needs. The copy is written to arouse fear, love, hate, greed, sexual desire, or humor, or otherwise create psychological tension that can best be resolved by purchase of the product or service. See also fantasy commercial; fear appeal; positive appeal.