Boston Market is targeting a promotion to workers furloughed by the government shutdown. Federal employees and military personnel can receive a free whole rotisserie chicken with the purchase of a family meal at any U.S. Boston Market restaurant, in a weeklong promotion that started Sunday. The deal's available to federal employees and military personnel with a valid government I.D.

A Wrigley Field agreement approved by the city Landmarks Commission could let the Cubs put ads on the clock in the center field scoreboard and along the top of the outfield wall. Last month the Commission approved a "master sign program" outlining the team's plans for as much as 45,000 square feet of advertisements on the ballpark's interior and exterior, about double what's there now.

A new TV ad campaign from Salem Five bank, via Boston-based Connelly Partners, features an animated version of Red Sox star Dustin Pedroia, with the ad making a point that Salem Five is as passionate about banking as Pedroia is about baseball. One ad has Pedroia saying "Baseball's not just my job, it's my life. I eat, drink and sleep baseball. I breathe baseball. If I ever cried, I'd cry baseballs. But I don't cry because I'm the laser show, man."

Could auto buyers in the near future get a free Google Glass thrown in with the purchase of a new Chevy? Tim Mahoney, global CMO for General Motors' Chevrolet, confirmed that Google held a demonstration for the automaker. GM executives tried on the smart glasses for size to see how they operate. "I think it's pretty cool," said Mr. Mahoney during an interview in New York.

Gross is good. At least, this holiday season, in the toy business, it sure seems to be. Maybe even great. The unlikely instigator: Toys R Us, which will roll out its own line of Monster 500 creepy-looking vehicles and playsets, including CrocPot, an icky monster sitting on a potty-type vehicle and holding a toilet plunger, and Turbo Chainsaw Massacre, who looks eager to saw off just about anything. Mind you, these are targeted at little kids as young as 4 years old.

Artisanal Brands, a marketer and distributor of specialty, artisanal and farmstead cheeses and other specialty food products, has signed a long-term lease on a new Artisanal Cheese Center in New York City with cheese aging caves, production and office facilities, as well as the first retail outlet to be owned and managed by the company.

Available at participating Dunkin' Donuts restaurants throughout the Greater Boston market, the new product is the Dunkin' Donuts Energy Bar, which contains B vitamins and protein as well as caffeine and coffee, said a company that likes to push the envelope on hand-held cuisine. Down a Joe and an energy bar at the same time and, presumably, a Dunkin' Donuts customer can achieve full morning lift-off.

After a downward sales trend last year, things are reversing with volume and dollar gains. But slowing down this year, according to Technomic's 2013 BeerTAB (Trends in Adult Beverages) Report. Following a 1.3% decline in 2011, total beer volume increased 1.2% to 2.8 billion 2.25-gallon cases, and retail dollars rose 3.5% to $62.3 billion in 2012. Mainstream domestic beer performance was lifted by growth of super-premium labels such as Blue Moon and the retro-hip brands including Pabst Blue Ribbon.

iWatch, Jawbone and Google Glass, yes, but a hot topic at the 2013 Innovation by Design Conference was wearable connected devices in personal fashion. Jawbone CEO Hosain Rahman and designer Yves Bhar, there is no one iWatch to rule them all. In fact, as they told a live audience at a Q&A panel moderated by Fast Company's Austin Carr, the wearables revolution might largely end up to be an invisible one.

Adobe Systems has begun a beta letting people test Ginger, it's iPad app for creating video presentations. The pre-release program gives users exclusive access to Ginger before it's released to the public, the company said. Beta testers will be able to share their stories, but apparently not experiences with the software itself. Adobe requires testers to agree to a confidentiality agreement before being able to try the software.