TOW #15: AP Chemistry Prep Book (Visual Text)

An AP chemistry prep book is just about the last place I would think to look for a visual text, except that there was one on my desk. Sure enough, this class has made me more aware of the subtle advertising strategies around me. The creator of the cover I do not know, as it is not listed, but it is clearly someone aimed at the promotion of a the book, targeting the obvious audience of AP students and their parents by making the book, if not visually appealing, at least attention-grabbing, clearly displaying the book’s credibility, and giving logical reasons why an AP chemistry student should choose that book.

To make a good cover, there must be something that attracts one’s eye to that particular book. For this aspect, the bright yellow color plays a role. Many of the other books are white with blue or red, so the brilliant highlighter color certainly sets this prep book apart from the crowd. Though not at all related to chemistry, there is also a pretty, smiling student that adds to visual appeal. It leads a viewer to believe that he, too, will be as happy as that girl if he purchases the prep book (and perhaps he will, but only if he gets a 5 – not while studying, as is implied). Now that the potential buyer is attracted to the book, he must know what exactly makes it credible and what it has to offer.

The cover is clearly divided into sections: the region above and below the title, Cracking the AP Chemistry exam. The top portion is taken up by the words “From America’s MOST POPULAR college prep company” and next to that “The Princeton Review.” Thus, the first thing a potential buyer sees when picking up the book is that it is the most popular in the country (highlighted in blue), making it a choice preferred over other prep books that surely line the Barnes and Noble shelves. The name “Princeton” is another strategy for automatic ethos. The Ivy League name immediately brings to mind intelligence, and perhaps even prompts one to make the connection that if he does well on the AP exam, he might be able to make it into an Ivy.

The bottom portion of the book focuses on the logical reasons why one might buy it, with the words “If it’s on the test, it’s in this book!” and “Revised and updated for the NEW EXAM,” which both share the same blue highlighting or font color as was used at the top, creating a visual balance and drawing the eyes from the top to the bottom so that a viewer notices both its credibility and the most logical reasons to buy it without needed to read the entire cover. In large font, it also brags two practice exams, but other than this, it resorts to small, out of the way, font for the details of what the book contains in terms of exam preparation, showing that the marketing strategies of appealing to authorities on the subject (Princeton) and being eye-catching over the actual value of content, which is likely to be shared with every other AP prep book. I bought it, so it must have achieved its purpose.