Celebrating the launch of Lexus' new IS model for 2006, the company has kicked off a new advertising campaign that successfully melded visual and audio elements to make the spots all about the car, less about the fluff. Even the "announcer guy" in the background is somewhat subdued when it comes to messaging.

The ads all carry a new tagline that throws towards the nifty visuals carried across the campaign - "Why live in one dimension?" The spot that most of you have probably already seen, pictured above, is called "Running Rings" - it can be viewed here (QuickTime req'd). It shows two people seemingly cloning themselves over and over again, roaming around a secluded forest scene, only to retract back to one male and one female, and enter the IS that has entered the area. If the out of the box thinking seems curiously familiar to you, it should.

More after the jump..

The director of the ads is none other than Francois Vogel, whose face we saw over and over again in HP's "Picture Book" spots where he frames his own face over and over again. That was another ad where the music and concept were blended together very well, creating a great experience for the viewer. Vogel, of Paranoid Projects: Tool, worked with producers Phillip Detchmendy and Claude Letessier, production boss Amy DeLossa, line producer Kati Haberstock, and director of photography Alex Lamarque on this project, which also includes two more great spots.

"Split Screen" reminded me most of the H3 "Vertigo" spot as we watch the split screen camera angles change axes here and there, but you never lose the imagery of the vehicle and its power. But as much as I enjoy the first two, "Details" is by far my favorite. It combines the split screen elements in a different way, and brings the verbiage of the voiceover down to exactly what is trying to be conveyed through the eye - that "every one of your senses...has been made a priority."

The campaign comes along with a nifty new website, too - ThenewIS.com. The site contains a fairly "experiential" trip through the vehicle. I especially enjoyed the paddle shifters on the wheel, which are available not only for automatic drivers who wish to join the fray, but those who buy into one of the manual iterations.

Complete credits are available here.