Marketing communication is a key tool through which businesses inform, persuade, and remind consumers about the products and brands they sell. Integrated marketing communication further emphasizes the synchronization of promotional elements to create and deliver greater value to the target customer, becoming essential in the digital age where traditional methods are no longer sufficient. Significant components of advertising include advertising appeals used to attract attention and influence consumer behavior, especially emotional appeals which are particularly important in crisis situations, as they can create a deeper connection with consumers. Effective crisis communication involves timely and relevant information, often via social media, to maintain consumer trust and loyalty. Accordingly, the main goal of this paper is to investigate whether Croatian organizations used emotional components in their advertising campaigns during the first lockdown and to analyze their impact on creating a positive opinion about organizations among the target audience. For the purposes of this paper, research was conducted to examine the adaptation of marketing communication by Croatian organizations during the first lockdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Data was collected through a quantitative method using an anonymous survey questionnaire among respondents in the Republic of Croatia. The survey covered four advertising campaigns of Croatian companies (Jamnica, Podravka, PIK, and Karlovačko) that adapted their communication strategies to the then-crisis situation. The research results indicate that it is desirable to use emotional components in advertising campaigns to connect with the audience during crisis times. According to the research results, emotional appeals were significantly present in advertising campaigns. However, although emotional appeals increased the attractiveness of advertising campaigns, their impact on opinions and attitudes about product quality was limited, indicating the need for further research to better understand consumer attitudes in crisis situations.