I am happy to announce that OTC reader Jonathan Sommer is the winner of the Ralph Lauren Wimbledon gift bag.

Jonathon’s story about a Polo sweater he could not afford inspiring him to take a fresh look at his own wardrobe captures both the spirit of Ralph Lauren’s style and the purpose behind OTC.  It was not a slam dunk as several of your stories showed me that far from being just a “brand name,” Polo/Ralph Lauren is an emotional and personal touchstone for so many.

I’ll be seeing a few Ralph Lauren corporate folks next week and will be sure to remind them that they’ve got a pretty special brand.

Thanks to all of you for inspiring me!

To celebrate its fifth year as official outfitter of the Wimbledon Championships, Polo Ralph Lauren will introduce the first ever Legends Clinic tomorrow, June 17, at 11:00 a.m. (ET).

The Legends Clinic is a live interactive virtual tennis clinic featuring 3 times Wimbledon champion Boris Becker, and OTC is honored to be working with Ralph Lauren to promote the event and their outstanding Wimbledon collection.

During this interactive clinic, tennis enthusiasts around the world are going to be tuning in as Becker will be answering emailed questions, fed to him by presenter Annabel Croft, demonstrates technique, and offer hints and tips on how to improve your game during this interactive clinic.  To access the Legends Clinic, please CLICK HERE.

And if that’s not enough for you, OTC and Ralph Lauren are also teaming up to give away a gift bag from the  brand new Wimbledon Collection!  As you can probably imagine, when Ralph Lauren, one of OTC’s longtime favorite brands, does something they tend to do it very well. See what Mr. Becker is wearing in these photos?  That’s the kind of stuff you can win.

To take your shot at winning the OTC/Ralph Lauren Wimbledon Collection gift bag, leave a comment telling us how Ralph Lauren has influenced your own personal sense of style. You have until next Wednesday, June 23, so hurry up!

With this partnership, Polo Ralph Lauren continues its role as the official outfitter of all on-court officials including chair umpires, line umpires and ball persons. In 2006, Polo Ralph Lauren became the first designer in Wimbledon’s 133-year history to create official uniforms for the tournament – a natural fit to many fans of the elegantly sporty brand.

Updated classic style returns to Centre Court with a modern array of sportswear inspired by the elegance and sophisticated heritage of English tennis. Classic cabled tennis sweaters are reworked with stylish tank tops and cable-knit vests.

The Wimbledon blazer appears in cream jersey with navy ribbon piping. Recalling the elegant heritage of the game, chic navy blazers, button down shirts, repp ties and ribbon belts are shown in the tournament’s signature shades of Wimbledon Bentley green.

Probably the single most popular tennis tournament in the world, the Wimbledon Championships are held June 21 – July 4, and  are attended by an average of 500,000 visitors each year.

For more information on The Championships, log on to www.Wimbledon.org.

About a month ago, I wrote about Nike Golf’s highly organized “apparel scripting” program for it’s PGA athletes.  It’s science as much as art, like their amazing dri-fit fabric technology, but what it really comes down to is Nike’s singular dedication to brand management.

What does this marketing focus look like when it hits the links?  It looks like a clean palate punctuated by an occasional swoosh.  This unified approach to logo control is a unique and deliberate strategy that Nike uses to differentiate their athletes amid a sea of golfers sporting multiple logos across shirt, pants, hat, glove, shoe, belt and just about anything else you can think of.

By contrast, Nike endorses an entire athlete – head to toe.  The only logo you’ll see is that iconic swoosh.  And when it comes to choosing which shirt, shoes, pants and hat go together, Nike takes care of that too. I recently had the chance to spend some time with Nike Golf’s global public relations director, Beth Gast, down at The Oven, home base for Nike Golf’s R&D operation down in forth Worth, Texas.  I’ll have more on that amazing trip in the next day or so, but one thing she made clear was that Nike understands the power of its brand.

And although relatively new compared to some other big guns like Callaway, Nike Golf’s brand is big enough to stand on it’s own, literally.  Which means when Tiger or Michelle Wie, or defending U.S. Open champ Lucas Glover step on the green, all you see is ever present but discreet Nike.  Is there a premium to get a world class golfer to forgo potentially lucrative mini-ads?  Of course, no one will say how much, but for Nike Golf, the point is to dominate the asset, and when your asset (such as he is at the moment) is Tiger Woods, that additional concession is cheap compared to the brand benefit.

As I found out at the Oven, Nike is fixated on excellence.  It’s always on full display, from the genuine love, bordering on obsession, that the R&D staff has for creating the perfect club to the technological innovations that drive everything from fabric technology to golf ball core development.

So when it’s time to suit up for a tourney, Nike’s athletes are looking good right down to their socks.