The Illinois Office of Tourism launched a TV spot encouraging tourism during the fall. The spokesman is a miniature Abraham Lincoln, full of vim and vigor. Mini Abe isn’t afraid to try anything new or adventurous, as he’s shown zip-lining, racing cars, on an amusement park ride, carving a pumpkin and staring at a life-sized replica of himself. “Be more spontaneous this fall” closes "Mini Abe’s Spontaneous Fall,” seen here and created by JWT Chicago.

Benjamin Moore is scaring professional painters with its new line of Ultra Spec 500 paint that dries scarily fast. Perfect for the Halloween season, the brand is launching ScaryGoodJob.com today, a microsite housing an online video of painters taking on the scariest job in the world: painting an empty haunted motel at night with minimal lighting. Hidden cameras captured the excitement as painters painted a wall, while creaky noises and flickering lights distracted them. Things got really scary for one painter when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye: a ghostly woman in a white dress walking toward him. Needless to say, there was a lot of screaming coming from the painters, who were eventually let in on the joke. Painters can also enter a contest on the site for a chance to win a 500-gallon supply of Ultra Spec 500 paint. That will cover a lot of walls. The Martin Agency created the campaign, directed by Jason Zada.

I don’t know about you, but a sizable chunk of the songs I download I first heard in an ad. Take Lou Reed’s “Perfect Day,” for example. I purchased the song shortly after hearing it in this 2010 AT&T ad starring Olympic snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler. The song is back in another ad, this time for Sony PlayStation. The PlayStation 4 launches on Nov. 15, and “Perfect Day” shows an ideal afternoon between two gaming friends. The spot launched during “Monday Night Football” and follows two friends deep inside three PlayStation games: the pair fight like warriors in “Elder Scrolls,” run one another off a racetrack in “Driveclub,” and run headfirst into battle in “Killzone.” One of the gamers definitely looks like comedian Michael McDonald. “Greatness Awaits,” closes the ad, seen here and created by BBH New York. In addition to the TV spot, there’s also a website counting down to the Nov. 15 launch.

Gamers, get ready for Oct. 29, the release date for Ubisoft'sAssassin’s Creed IV Black Flag. A teaser spot for the popular video game franchise tells a story through tattoos. Pirate Edward Kenway, the game’s main character, is covered in ink. Each tattoo symbolizes something different. For example, the chains on Kenway's shoulder represent his time in captivity, while the face of a beautiful woman on his arm depicts his penchant for the ladies. The main story is a pirate’s quest  “for the freedom to do whatever you want,” answering to himself and not a crown or army. Watch it here, created by Mistress.

We’ve all heard that talking to household plants makes them grow faster. In a social media experiment for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, it’s life or death. Sort of. The museum is testing this plant-talking theory to support MythBusters: The Explosive Exhibition, running from Oct. 11 through Jan. 5. Talk to a Plant invites everyone on Twitter to help test the theory. Visitors to TalkToAPlant.com can send the plant a message about anything: bacon, the government shutdown or the weather. Users can also send a tweet by using the #talktoaplant.com hashtag. A custom tweet-to-speech technology, developed by the agency using an Arduino-based device, will then read your tweet aloud to one of the plants. The other plant suffers in silence. The plants run on 12-hour light cycles and are watered by an in-house lab technician. Tune in on Wednesdays during lunch for water showings and check in on the live stream periodically to see if this myth is just that: talk. Carmichael Lynch created the campaign.

One visit to the American Museum of Natural History in New York proves to be life-changing for one girl. In “Maria & The Dinosaur,” the museum has such a profound impact on a young girl who loves dinosaurs that she seems destined for greatness. The girl wins her science fair and collects one big degree after another, thanks to her smarts and unlimited supply of coffee. Her journey comes full circle when she gets her dream job studying dinosaurs. Watch it here. WiT Media and Wander created the campaign.

Big brother is watching in the “Break Room” at a TWIX factory, so choose your side wisely. Inside the Left TWIX Factory break room is a vacuum machine where right TWIX bars are placed and subsequently removed from the premises. One curious employee wonders what’s so different between the two TWIX bars and decides to see for himself. He’s about to do the unthinkable and eat a right-side TWIX, when a video camera catches sight and deploys operation employee disposal. A large human-sized vacuum comes out of the ceiling and sucks the man inside and releases him inside the Right TWIX factory. See it here. BBDO New York created the campaign.

The interns at BBH Barn this summer had to create a campaign using the brief "Do Good, Famously" -- and did so with Speak for ALS. They partnered with the ALS Association to create a Web platform that crowdsources voices so that people living with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) can speak. In many cases, people with ALS lose their voice. Speak for ALS reached out to four people with the disease and asked them what they wished they could say to those who matter most. A touching video was created, with various participants speaking the words a father would tell his daughter had ALS not robbed him of his voice. He is proud of his daughter, who recently graduated from high school and became the first member of her family to get accepted into college. Watch it here. In addition, a website was created where people can donate their voice, money, or both, to Speak for ALS.

Random iPhone App of the week: Vino Volo, operator of 28 wine bars in airports and cities across North America, launched an app allowing users to find the nearest store, earn points to access exclusive benefits, and share wine experiences with friends. Guests show their app home screen, which indicates one of three membership levels: Cellar, Reserve or Grand Reserve. After a purchase, guests scan a barcode on their receipt to log points in real time. Loyalty members have access to exclusive offers and are the first to know about new store openings. Users can also review locations and share their Vino Volo experience with friends on Facebook. The app, created by Punchh, is available for free in the App Store.