- Becky Ebenkamp

Toyota's luxury Lexus brand has launched an effort to show that, like other automakers, it's also environmentally aware. Team One, El Segundo, Calif., worked with Boxer Films, Los Angeles, and director Jeffrey DeChausse to create "Landfill" and two other executions in a branding campaign for three Lexus hybrid models: GS 450h, RX 400h and LS 600h L.

In the first installment of the online campaign, mini-documentaries showcase the work of architectural designers Clive Wilkinson and Peter De Maria, who use second-hand materials to build homes. The documentaries reinforce the message that Lexus is resourceful and hip to the "reduce, reuse and recycle" trend.

"Landfill," which is currently online at NBC.com, details Wilkinson and De Maria reusing metal shipping containers to create chic, eco-friendly and structurally sound homes. A voiceover compares their mission to that of Lexus, which aims to be landfill-free. "Shipping containers transformed into homes, waste transformed to value." A second spot chronicles the construction of the houses. Tagline for the ads: "The 'Power of h.'"

Two other ads show a Tokyo man using the vibration of cars to light a bridge and relating it to a Lexus braking system, and a solar tree that lights a park at night.

"It's about the idea that green can be beautiful in design—it doesn't have to be granola," director DeChausse said. "The harmonious relationship between form and function."