Moral appeals are those appeals to the audience that appeal to their sense of right and wrong. These are often used in messages to arouse a favorable response to social causes, such as prohibition, adult literacy, social forestry, anti-smuggling and hoarding, consumer protection, equal rights for women, social responsibility projects of corporations, rural development, siding weaker sections of society, employment generation, and so on.

There are messages that appeal for generous donations for flood victims and for famine relief operations – these are often based on moral appeal. Many commercial advertisements are criticized on moral grounds. The most controversial ad campaigns are by multinational companies marketing baby food products. Many WHO experts are critical of these corporations that promote bottle-feeding against breast-feeding.