Class, all the way. AP Images Jersey Shore's "The Situation" is known for many things… His jaw-dropping, horrifically embarrassing Roast to Donald Trump, his love affair with Snookie, his blow out hair, an affinity for tanning booths, clubs and the gym…

Abercrombie added one more thing to the list. His wardrobe, (and that of his cast-mates) which consist of their merchandise.

Abercrombie has kindly asked them to stop wearing their brand.

Moreover, they've offered "substantial payment" if they would keep their skin-tight Abercrombie tees in the closet.

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), whose clothes often advertise their brand in big hard-to-miss lettering, has received a lot of exposure from the Jersey Shore cast members over the years.

The show has 4.8 million viewers after all. One might expect the free marking to be advantageous.

Yet appeal to Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino (and the rest of the cast) to stop wearing their brand was explained in a Tuesday press release:

"We are deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image. We understand that the show is for entertainment purposes, but believe this association is contrary to the aspirational nature of our brand, and may be distressing to many of our fans."

Is this a clever PR stunt to catch the attention of the fans during back-to-school season, or is the teen fashion icon serious about "significant damage" the show is causing to the brand?

As the A&F situation stands now, the market value of Abercrombie fell 8.2% in the first trading session since the announcement, from Tuesday's close at $71.02 to Wednesday afternoon's $65.20. Analysts are not quite sure if the situation is a response to Jersey Shore's dedicated fan base, or more likely, higher economic factors including steep back-to-school sale discounts that dig into profit margins.

The cast of Jersey Shore is not known for their adherence to laws, so it remains to be seen if they will adhere to A&F's request.

In the meantime, here are a few tools to get you started on analyzing Abercrombie & Fitch:

As shown by the Turbo Chart, ANF has outperformed the S&P 500 index for most of the year.







Wall Street analysts appear to be cautiously optimistic on the company's outlook. The stock currently has a "Moderate Buy" rating (lower than most telecom competitors, as shown by the Compar-O-Matic):





