Scare-and-sell advertising is used here to describe some ads in the categories of prevention (avoid the "bad"), protection (keep the "good"), and relief ("get rid of the bad") because they often use a common problem/solution pattern.

In this, a problem will be stressed, then the product will be offered as the solution to it. Such ads often show dramatized scenes of "horror stories" (accidents, tire blowouts, stalls on lonely road, burglars, fire) followed by the product's claim to prevent or to relieve the problem.

Prevention emphasizes the future, not relief for something bad which already exists. Such ads often serve a very good purpose to remind us to check our tires, fix our brakes, or take fire precautions. However, such warnings are often abused by persuaders who know that they stir up deep emotional feelings of fear and anxiety. Persuaders are often problem makers.

Instead of selling hopes and dreams, this kind of "scare-and-sell" advertising emphasizes human fears and nightmares. If such appeals are not credible, or if they are too intense, then people may complain.

Often, the "problems" (dirty floors, spotted shirts, bad breath, split hair-ends) emphasized in ads may seem trivial to us: simply inconveniences or minor annoyances.

However, this problem/solution pattern ("anxiety arousal and satisfaction") is commonly used and quite effective in many consumer ads.

Key Verbs in Protection appeals, in conservative political rhetoric:
defend, save, protect, keep, maintain, guard, safeguard, take care of, retain, hold, support, sustain.

Key Verbs in Prevention appeals, in conservative political rhetoric:
avoid, block, deny, don't let, exclude, keep out, prevent, prohibit, prepare, resist, retard, shut out, slow down.

In actual political usage (e.g. national defense and immigration issues), these concepts could be implied, unspoken, or related "code words" used.