Activision couldn't help but sign on to help market 'Couples Retreat'

If you're anything like us, you went running out to see the latest Vince Vaughn / Jon Favreau vehicle Couples Retreat the second you heard about the exciting partnership between Activision's Guitar Hero franchise and Universal contained within. You see, Vaughn's character works as a Guitar Hero salesperson (does that exist?) -- a point that comes into play when the film features a plastic peripheral-powered GH duel between Vaughn's character and a resort staffer. According to Variety, Vaughn and Favreau wrote the music rhythm game into the film because they are fans of the series, leading Activision to sign on as one of the film's many marketing partners.

"When we heard that Vince's character is a salesperson of the video game we laughed hysterically," Will Kassoy, senior VP of publishing at Activision, told Variety. With the film opening to a $35.3 million weekend, it appears everyone involved was laughing all the way to the bank, proving that hackneyed premises can still sneak their way into just about any kind of mainstream media and work. With Favreau prepping the return of Iron Man, Kassoy said Activision "wouldn't mind" if the superhero decided to pick up a Guitar Hero controller. Now that's synergy!