MarcForrest.com

Category: On The Marc

  • Nando’s Meal for 6 campaign

    Earlier today I got a surprise visit from Uncle Bob, in the flesh. He gave me a top secret envelope containg a flashdrive and a voucher for a meal for 6 at Nandos.

    It all forms part of the latest Nando’s festive campaign, called Meal for 6,  where they asking, who would invite for your Meal for 6 ? From today till the 2nd of December, you can win daily prizes as well as a fully catered meal for you and 5 friends, with a personal chef.

    All you need to do is tweet the names of 5 people, living or dead, who you would want to have dinner with and include the hashtag #Mealfor6. These people don’t have to be on twitter, you can include anyone, just remember to include the hashtag.

    Also check out the video for the campaign which will be aired on TV over the next couple of weeks on the official website -> www.mealfor6.co.za. Brilliant !!

     

  • [Review] iPad DODOCase now available in South Africa

    The guys from WildTwig (better known for their iTunes Vouchers) got in touch me the other day to let me know they have officially partnered with DODOCase to bring the awesome DODOCase cover for the iPad to South Africa. The iPad cover is THE ultimate iPad cover, and has won numerous awards, ranking it as one the top accessories to have.

    The DODOcase exterior gives your iPad the look and feel of a hard-bound book. Not only does this provide superior protection, it disguises your iPad to look like an ordinary book, preventing theft. The DODOcase cradles your device in a strong, yet gentle, bamboo tray. The multifunctional design also allows you to use the case as a stand for typing or watching videos.

    I have had mine for a couple of days now and I am really impressed. The quality is far superior to any case I have ever had, as well as it makes for easy handling when using the iPad as a book. The fact that it look awesome, with a moleskin type feel, and you can choose from 9 different interior colours.

    The WildTwig guys are selling them for $72.95 from their site, which works out to around R600. This comes in at around what some of the other iPad cases I priced. The Apple Smart Cover goes for between R499 & R799.


    If you keen on finding out more about the DODOCase, I suggest checking out the WildTwig site, where they have loads of pictures & videos showing you. 

  • A weekend with Johnnie Walker at the Gary Player Invitational

    A weekend with Johnnie Walker at the Gary Player Invitational

    As I mentioned last week, I was fortunate to get an invite to attend the Gary Player Invitational at Zimbali from the guys at Johnnie Walker. Yoh ! What. A. Weekend. Amazing to say the least :)

    I got to Zimbali on Saturday around lunchtime and quickly checked into the awesome Fairmont Zimbali Resort. Seriously, if you ever get an opportunity to stay in this hotel, grab it. The place is another world. The staff are super friendly and helpful, and the rooms are HUGE. I stayed in one of the Villa apartments, which is probably bigger than my house. Each room also gets their own Golf Cart to run around in.

    So, after a quick check-in, I headed up to the country club to get sorted and start watching some golf. Headed down to the 9th green and managed to watch a couple of guys come through. There were loads of celebrities & pro golf players in the field, so was quite cool to see some faces you only get to see in the papers & on TV.

    At round 3ish, the first group with Gary Player finished their round on the 18th. We then headed down to the putting practice green, where Gary Player gave us some putting tips. Keep your head down, and keep your head still. Easy. Not quite. A few of us from the “media” (bout 6) were then allowed to have a quick one on one session with the man himself, with some personal coaching.

    To say this was daunting was a bit of an understatement. Here, this legend, has been a Pro Golfer for over 60 years ! Sixty.Years. Wow !
    So I stepped up for my 3 practice putts, and needless to say, I sucked. Hahaha. All 3 of my shots were too hard, and the coach wasn’t happy.  But all in good fun. We then proceeded to a putting competition, and the winner, who was closest to the hole would win a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue. My shot was to hard again, and I overran the target. Eventually Ben from FollowTheBounce won the bottle (read his recount of the weekend here), and got it signed my Gary Player himself. That’s probably gonna be worth a bit in a few years time. Awesome prize.

    We then headed back to our rooms to get sorted for the evening’s event, more commonly known as “The Saturday Night Party”.Very Apt. After a couple of speeches and some great dinner, the entertainment for the evening was Johnny Clegg, who is beyond amazing. That guy is a legend in his own right. And he really got the crowd going. Then after that a few(few) Johnnie Walker Black Labels were consumed with a lot of dancing with Gareth Cliff on the decks. All in all a VERY VERY cool evening, and a lot of sorry looking faces at breakfast the next morning.

    We headed down to the 9th green again to see the golfers come through. We were quite lucky to see the whole field come through, and saw a couple of great putts. One day, I will be able to putt like that.

    So, all in all, an awesome & inspirational weekend ! Some great golf, lots of really cool people, and really well organised event. A huge HUGE thanks to the team from Johnnie Walker for the invite. Def THE highlight of my year so far.

  • Off to the Gary Player Invitational at Zimbali this weekend

    The guys from Johnnie Walker gave me a call a few weeks ago to invite me to the very cool Gary Player Invitational Golf Tournament at Zimbali this coming weekend. Johnnie Walker are one of the premier sponsors of the event, and it is looking to be a cracker of a weekend with some great golfers and celebrities lined up. The golfers in the challenge have been handpicked from a whole host of backgrounds, and achievements.

    Some of the lineup for the big event include Gary Player, Ian Woosnam, Tony Johnstone, Sally Little, Roger Wessels and European tour winner George Coetzee, while some of the celebrities who will be lining up are sporting legends Pierre Spies, Lucas Radebe, Kapil Dev, Paul Collingwood, Shaun Pollock, rugby referee Craig Joubert and popular 5FM Breakfast Show host, Thomas Msengana. I’m gonna be heading down on Saturday to see some of these guys (and lady) in action. I am also really excited to have been invited to an exclusive putting session with Gary Player on Saturday afternoon, so will def be taking some pics and reporting back on that over the weekend. You can also follow me on Twitter, and I’ll be posting pics during the course of the day.

    I had a bit of extra time on my hands last night, so I did some reading up on the Johnnie Walker brand and how it was started. The story itself is really interesting and, actually, pretty inspiring. The story goes that early in 1805 a grocer, John Walker saw a gap in the market for a whisky brand, which starting to gain popularity as a drink at the time, and decided to start blending his own. From there the blend become popular and people started asking for it by name, which was then named Johnnie Walker. The business & brand was passed on through generations, and only in 1908 did the striding man logo, that we all know so well today, come to life. Actually if you read the whole story (Also read the Wikipedia story) you will see how inspirational the story was, and how the brand has become so popular over the years. The association with the Gary Player invitational is pretty cool in the sense, if you look at what Gary Player has achieved, both as a golfer, and as a person, you will see the similarities between the brand and the legend.

    I once read a quote by Gary Player – “The harder you practise, the luckier you get“, which is actually so true with anything in life, and actually pretty comparable to the Johnnie Walker motto ‘Keep Walking’ which essentially helps men and woman focus on their own progress and inspires them to move forward in life.

     

  • FNB offers iPad2 & other tablets & Smartphones at hugely discounted prices

    If you didn’t already know, I am a HUGE fan of FNB. In fact, the other day I likened them to the Google of South Africa, cause they are on top of everything. They have hit the spot by targeting all corners of the market, and today, they came to the party, again !

    From today you, if you are an FNB Gold or Platinum cheque account holder, you can order a variety of Android, Apple & Blackberry devices, at hugely discounted rates, and also the ability to pay the devices off over a period of 24 months, INTEREST FREE ! !, with the amount coming straight off your account monthly.

    To take advantage of this offer, if you are an FNB customer, you can sms the word “phone” or “tablet” to 32812

    The devices on offer are as follows:

    Apple iPad 2 – 16GB 3G

    Suggested Retail Price: R5,699
    FNB Price:  R4,800 (R899 – 16% Saving)
    Monthly Repayment: R200 for 24 Months

     

    HTC Sensation (Android Phone)

    Suggested Retail Price: R5,900
    FNB Price:  R4,800 (R1,100 – 19% Saving)
    Monthly Repayment: R200 for 24 Months

     

    BlackBerry Curve 8520

    Suggested Retail Price: R1,999
    FNB Price:  R1,608 (R391 – 15% Saving)
    Monthly Repayment: R70 for 24 Months

     

    HTC Flyer (Android Tablet)

    Suggested Retail Price: R6,900
    FNB Price:  R4,800 (R2,100 – 30% Saving)
    Monthly Repayment: R200 for 24 Months

     

    HTC Wildfire S (Android Phone)

    Suggested Retail Price: R2,600
    FNB Price:  R1,680 (R920 – 35% Saving)
    Monthly Repayment: R70 for 24 Months

     

    These are some awesome deals, and I highly suggest, that if you not already an FNB client, that you sign up. Even if it is not for these deals, there are other awesome benefits. You can sign up for an FNB account on the FNB website or using the awesome FNB Smartphone app.

    Disclaimer: I was not asked to write this post by FNB or any of it’s affiliate agencies. I just think that this is probably THE best smartdevice deal I have ever seen !!