I'm upset. I work in the industry where ideas are king. Newness is necessary. In the midst of this economic crisis I couldn't help but hone in on the auto companies. I was irate at the GM commercial blitz during the football playoffs. In a time when you need to do something drastic, instead of changing from within and taking some personal accountability, you decide to ask the government to bail you out. Here's an example of not changing. I must have seen 30-40 GM commercials during the playoffs (and I only watched a few games) advertising your red tag event. Seriously? Wow, the price on the tag is the price you get? Haven't we all heard that same campaign for the last 10 years? Haven't you learned that what you've been doing in the past hasn't been working? It's time for change, not sameness. For once, try something new, something different, something that will actually spark a would-be buyer to take notice. No, I'm not talking about another finance offer. And guess what else, the next campaign you tried fails too. The one that says something that's apparently unique about your vehicles and the spot ends with "From GM...surprised?" No GM, I don't think any of us are surprised. Then I saw the Hyundai ad. The one where they talk about the economy and troubling times and offer to buy the vehicle back from you if you lose your job. Now that's brilliant, compelling and emotionally engaging. And from what I can tell, not a huge investment. Do you see the difference, GM? They started with an idea that would strike at the emotions of a consumer...maybe even get someone who's on the fence about buying, worried about their job, to consider making the purchase and benefiting this economy. Maybe you want me to blame your ad agency for the lack of engagement? Well, you're the one who hired them and approved the campaigns so I'm looking at you instead. As for the employees of GM and Chrysler, the only people you should be upset with is your employers. This isn't a government issue, this is a mismanagement issue. I'm certainly torn on the idea of a bailout, looking at it more to save your job than to save the company, but regardless, if they don't start making some changes, they deserve to disappear. I'm not auto-maker expert. But I am in the business of creating engaging experiences. More importantly, I'm a consumer. There's not much GM or Chrysler could do to win my business. I see failure all over them. Maybe I'm still reeling from the fact that GM thought a Hummer would be a good idea. As for Ford, I used to be on the fence. But something changed in the early 2000s. The cars they started creating just made more sense. I've been following @scottmonty (Ford's social media guy) on Twitter for quite a while and have appreciated what he has had to say. Whether Ford needs the bailout or not, I think it was a brilliant move for them to say they didn't and they'll be fine. A little confidence never hurt anybody. I'm in the market for a vehicle, something that supports my third child that's on the way. I was starting to think the AWD Ford Flex, but now I'm wondering what my options are with Hyundai (besides the minivan). @jasonrysavy tags: catalyst studios, minneapolis, minnesota, design, graphic design, interactive, catalyst,

We (I) have not made a news post in quite some time. Why? It's simple really, it's called Twitter. Catalyst tends to spread all our news on Twitter and I feel like I'm repeating myself here, only in a much more ramble-ramble sort of way. Here's a few excerpts from catployees on Twitter from the last few days. And yes, some of them are nonsense, but it certainly gives you an up to the minute idea of our banter. Follow us on Twitter to experience more, or to find out exactly what is going on around Catalyst. ---------------- Me: @jasonrysavy Wow, office mate just got a snuggie-See him here Order here: http://getsnuggie.com back at the office after another new biz meeting, trends continue to show that companies are looking for smarter smaller agencies tonight we exchange white elephant gifts at our office party-my gift a few yrs back (no worries, Jesus is inside) http://tinyurl.com/8te2wj ---------------- Interactive Director @jaredlukes: right now I've got 1/2 the office doing my work so I can write case studies, hoo wee! back from another new biz at one of my larger corporate clients, always feel so bad for folks who fight an uphill battle with their IT dept having a conversation about tag clouds with one of my designers, realizing that we don't really see the value navigationally or suggestively ---------------- Interactive Designer @jsnsck making cookies with team Emeril at the catalyst holiday party. oh yeah babe (talking dirty to the eggs). UR V8K8SH1 iz baqon. ---------------- Director of Client Service @btreinen Will be at 37,000 feet for the swearing in. :( Send updates so I can feel a part of it at touchdown. Whew. Finally done posting photos of Catalyst's holiday party, held last night. Check it out is developing social marketing strategies for a client. ---------------- Developer @andrewnorell 1 for 3 in attempts at grabbing a "lipstick-less" coffee mug. @paulwichser I can show you where it says that programming concerns by no means trump Workamajig ones, and are not inherently more valuable. hey MS Jet-SQL, can't you make COALESCEing, INNER JOINing, paginating stored procedures easier to write/understand? ---------------- Marketing Director @christinajacksn wow, in awe to see Catalyst Studios' work during the Golden Globes. I just had to pull this one...c'mon! :) just had a great meeting with @jasonrysavy. Grateful for his time/wisdom and acknowledged cynicism. ---------------- Interactive Project Manager @megan_potter Figured out how to create a schedule in Workamajig. But, wow, do they look ugly. I want to ask questions. But everybody seems to be taking a late lunch. ---------------- Designer @carlschultze waiting for what must be a rather large omnigraffle file (cough cough @jaredlukes) If I'm sick tomorrow, I blame it on Jenn's 1970s "Old Fitzgerald Prime Bourbon" ---------------- Developer and IT guy @paulwichser I screamed myself hoarse at #catbowl (Ad League, for all you extras) Workamajig users: how do you track Time Off/Vacation/Sick Time in the system? That's it. Twhirl is out of my life. AIR runs like crap on the mac, just like Flash. I mean, c'mon Adobe, static pictures+txt=slow? ---------------- If you want a list of all the Catalyst folks on Twitter, here you go. tags: catalyst studios, minneapolis, minnesota, design, graphic design, interactive, catalyst, twitter,