Critical Thinking and Consumerism

We may be drawn to this ad through the empathy and compassion we feel for the polar bear and the loss of its habitat due to global warming, but is this ad really about helping the environment?
Using Tilbury and Wortman's (2004) Critical Thinking we could ask these questions to find out what this ad is really selling us:
What are your first impressions of this advertisement?
What things in this advertisement caused you to form these impressions?
What assumptions do you hold about sustainability that this ad was able to bring to the surface?
What do you think you are really being sold?
What do you think were the assumptions of the advertisers in relation to Sustainable Development and audience context when creating this advertisement?
These questions may draw about what is really being sold in the advertisement as well as the hidden assumptions that we may hold about sustainability as well as the assumptions of the advertisers.

In contrast we could compare this advertisement with the one shown above:

In comparing the two advertisements we could ask:
What are the assumptions of sustainability behind each advertisement ?
Does this advertisement change your perception of the previous advertisement? Why/Why not?
Which advertisement do you think is truly showing sustainability or are do they both have hidden agendas?

De- Bono's (1995) Six Thinking Hats could also be used to bring about how the learner might be thinking about these advertisements and what is influencing their type of thinking. It could also bring about questions in regards to whether or not changing the way we think changes our perception. For example: if you are operating under the Red Hat when looking at these advertisements, one might perceive them as being both good advertisers who are trying to do their bit on the quest for sustainability as the polar bear brings out an emotional response, particularly with the polar bear hugging the man in the first ad. However, if we change our view and look at them from Black Hat thinking one might become skeptical about the ads and wonder what really is the message behind the advertisements.