Autoblog and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article.Several superhero movies over the past few years have had automotive tie-ins, and the new Spider-Man: Brand New Day film is the latest, with the BMW iX3 being featured. But BMW may have taken its role in marketing the film a little too far, adding a commercial for the new Marvel movie to the infotainment screens of some of its new cars during start-up.Compatible BMWs in more than 70 countries show a Spider-Man banner when the cars are started, and if owners tap the banner, a full-screen animation promoting the new film launches, with music and an ambient light show. The promotion runs from July 27 to August 10 on suitably equipped Bimmers built after July 2020 and running BMW Operating System 7 or newer, so it won't be there forever, but some owners find this irritating, as seen in the comments section of the Reddit post embedded below.BMW Says Its Spider-Man Show Is "Special"BMW says this "festive animation" is a "special surprise," but it's an ad, and that's all there is to it. Speaking with The Autopian, a BMW representative said the "in-vehicle animation is part of a broader brand partnership with the film. A few of our vehicles - including the BMW iX3 - were in the film, and a special-edition iX3 was featured on the red carpet during last night's premiere in Los Angeles." But some commentators are likening this to the time when BMW thought charging owners a subscription fee for heated seats was a good idea. They've already paid for the car, and now they're being shown a promotional banner every time they start the car, which feels like another way BMW is making money off the purchase, without any real additional value being provided to the customer. It's not the first time we've seen something like this, either. Stellantis upset Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler owners with in-car ads last year, but BMW seems to have ignored the backlash that caused, despite previously suggesting it was a bad idea; as noted by Carscoops, BMW executive Stephan Durach said in December 2023 that he didn't think BMW would sell screen space for commercials because the cabin was "a private space."Autoblog's TakeMilanista59/RedditView the 2 images of this gallery on the original articleAdvertisementAdvertisementAutomakers are always looking for ways to increase revenue, and getting Sony and Marvel to pay a little more by renting out your attention with Spider-Man ads in the car is surely profitable. Not having the ad autoplay is a good thing, but it's still irritating being subjected to a commercial for something you may have no interest in and certainly didn't expect when signing on the dotted line. Unfortunately, it feels like automakers are constantly pushing the limits of what's acceptable, especially as vehicles rely on software more and more, bringing us closer to a dystopian society where humans are treated as little more than commodities to exploit. Sadly, we doubt that this will be an isolated incident.This story was originally published by Autoblog on Aug 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Autoblog as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
+71 others
