A (Book) Case of Gendered Advertising

I came across an interesting case today about gendered advertising. See the picture below:

The articles about these books, found here and here, discuss how both the liberal arts-based English and History books feature photos of women, while the science-based books feature men on their covers. The second article points out that this extends to Barnes and Noble's collections for boys and girls:

We see here that the collection for boys is more adventurous, involving more books about exploration and independence, while the girls collection remains friendship and human-interest focused. This article goes into further detail about gendered advertising, including ads for both cookies and crayons, with noticeably different marketing between each one, from the colors even down to the font choices.
Indeed, I did not find a lot of this surprising, considering how advertisings' ultimate purpose is to sell a product, as well as an image and product reputation, for a consumer. They know what works and what appeals to specific genders, and must walk a fine line to make sure they appeal in a proper manner. 
They communicate with the consumers in ways that connect to them on various emotional and intellectual levels, and with women especially, this can be tricky. As we read about gender schema in the case of Sarah Palin's portrayal in the media, "Gender schema theory emphasizes the dominant role of gender in not only grasping but also processing knowledge and beliefs and guiding behavior in a given culture...[it] points to cognitive structures that are historical, contextual, and persuasive, and illustrate the significance of gender stereotypes" (D. Harp et al., 293). In applying this theory, it is easy to see that this advertising clearly reflects stereotypes, male/female structure, and in a more subliminal way, guiding behavior. 

But in regards to the AP book covers, I agree with Jezebel's initial assessment as stated here: "Could these AP exam prep books from the Princeton Review be any more obvious? English and history are for ladies, and math and science are for boys. Since many text books now overcompensate with science covers that feature ladies...it's a little jarring to see something so... obvious? Brazen? 1950s?" I attended an all-girls school growing up, and remember most of our textbooks featuring photos of women on them - encouraging all of us that women could, in fact, choose any career they desires. But the pigeon-holing of women into specific careers and arenas of the world continues, as we still see less women than men in fields like law, business and medicine, which have always been male dominant. 

What do you think of this kind of advertising and how it communicates with women? Are the photo covers a simple accident/coincidence, or was there a clear choice made in their use?