BMW’s in-car Spider-Man ad is villain behavior

When a premium car brand like BMW says it has a “special surprise” in store for drivers, I’d expect something more luxurious than having a movie commercial beamed onto the dashboard. That’s exactly what’s happening to many BMW owners, however, who are being shown banner ads for Spider-man: Brand New Day on their Control Display upon starting the vehicle.

In a statement to The Autopian, BMW confirmed that the ads are definitely real, serving as part of “a broader brand partnership” with the new Marvel movie. BMW’s own announcement also confirms that the ads are running from July 27th until August 10th, and reveals how widespread they are:

“These festive animations will be available in more than 70 countries worldwide for vehicles equipped with the relevant optional equipment and BMW Operating System 7, 8, 8.5, 9 or BMW Operating System X, as well as a production date after 7/2020.”

Tapping on the ad displays a full-screen animation of Spider-Man swinging around BMW’s iX3 electronic SUV, complete with music, and even a “light show” if your car has an ambient lighting system. If you choose not to play the ad immediately, it’ll be added to the infotainment display as an app that you can view later.

While the animation itself doesn’t play automatically, BMW owners across social media are understandably disgruntled about advertising content being funneled into vehicles they’ve paid for — especially given BMW Group’s Senior VP, Stephan Durach, explicitly said the company wouldn’t do so. BMW has released seasonal display animations for Halloween and Christmas before, but referring to these Spider-Man ads as “festive” is really taking some liberties.

We’ve seen similar behavior from Stellantis in the past, with pop-up ads appearing in Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler vehicle displays, but it’s surprising to see a luxury car maker like BMW following that precedent. Then again, this is the same company that tried to charge its customers a monthly subscription to use heated seats that were already installed, so maybe it isn’t that surprising.