There was a bit in Eastenders when Ricky said, “we were goin’ at it ‘ammer ‘n tongs!” I think it’s brilliant that Hammer & Tongs pinched it for the beginning of their showreel.
When H&T was little (circa 1999), their big idea was: to make pop promos on MTV in a company where you could do what you wanted to do. Years later and several hundred promos later, director Garth Jennings and producer Nick Goldsmith are responsible for some of the best music videos ever made for the likes of Beck, Blur, Fatboy Slim, Radiohead, REM and Supergrass. They have also made their names directing award-winning TV ads by teaming up with such major brands as McDonalds, Milky Way, and PG Tips. Hammer & Tongs have also directed movies such as Son of Rambow and the film version of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Their Tongsville concept website has been around since 2001 and was handmade by the robots at Preloaded. It’s such a treat to visit their site and see the old-school pixel graphics still giving life to the city. The side scrolling city environment is intended to visualize the strange goings on within the ideas and works of the team. The site is deliberately unspecific as to what H&T do, but contains enough clues to allude to the nature of their business. The immersive site encourages visitors to spend more time exploring Tongsville by jumping on the train and taking a ride to the city center to discover hidden elements and new events. It includes real weather to give the true London climate. Real time day and night transitions are calculated using the longitude and latitude of the Hammer and Tongs’ offices, allowing the city to gradually change from day to night.
After all these years, the site still looks great! Just goes to show that a well-designed site is timeless. How many sites can survive — and thrive — for almost decade? That’s special. But, I’ve always wanted to know what that little pixel guy is actually saying….
You can follow H&T on Twitter @tongsville.
