General desires and fears

Here’s a list of some of the other desires and fears that copywriters may target with their advertisements. Note that most of these can be made into a fear or a desire type of advertisement. It depends on how positive or negative the advertisement is. For instance, an anti-speeding advertisement may show scenes from a hospital after car crashes involving children, and play on people’s fears of their children being involved in a car crash. Another advertisement may focus on how accidents have reduced since stricter speed limit enforcement was introduced, and play on people’s desires for fewer (ideally no) car accidents.

Self-esteem, your sense of worth
Career success and fulfilment
Popularity and social status, friends
Happiness
Personal appearance - weight, skin, muscles, etc.
Love and romance
Culture - literature, history, art
Dreams and goals, even fantasies
The ‘rich’ lifestyle
Exotic places
Skills and expertise
Family harmony and happiness
Need

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