BMW might have one of the best car logos, but maintaining a luxury brand takes a lot more than visual identity. It's the entire experience, and being pushed to watch an advert for a superhero movie isn't traditionally part of that.
According to carmaker, the controversial BMW Spider-Man video that it beamed into people's cars isn't an advert. It's a "festive animation" that was intended as a "surprise" gift for customers. What's most surprising people is BMW apparently not understanding that people don't buy a luxury car to be made to feel that they've just downgraded to the cheaper subscription tier on Netflix, or the free tier on YouTube.
But of course, BMW does know that. It's taking the risk anyway to test what customers are prepared to accept, and that could be more damaging than even the infamous Jaguar rebrand.
If you missed all the fuss, the controversy is that for the past two weeks most BMWs made since 2020 are automatically inviting their owners or lessees to view an advert for Sony Pictures’s new film Spider-Man: Brand New Day via the vehicles infotainment system. I say 'advert' because that's what it is, no matter how BMW might want to frame it.
To be fair, it's not quite as intrusive as some posts on social media are making out. The video doesn't play automatically, and there's no obligation to watch it. When drivers start the car, they're hit with a message that reads “Surprise! Spider-Man just dropped on your BMW!”
When customers click on the prompt, the touch screen is hijacked by the 19-second ad, complete with BMW product placement. It also triggers blinking lights in the car as part of the "experience". You can choose to not watch it, but it remains visible as an icon on the display.
The responses on social media have ranged from “stupid and annoying” to "super dystopian" and “WTF am I getting an ad in a car I paid over 70K for?"
This was always on the cards when dashboard dials started getting replaced by app-based operating systems, but I can understand why customers feel betrayed when a high-tech display plugged as a feature is now being used as advertising real estate.
While BMW and Marvel do have some sort of broader deal going on – a Spider-Man-themed SUV turned up on the red carpet for the film's premiere – it's hardly a Lotus and Bond kind of relationship. Most BMW drivers are not Spider-Man fans. Trying to frame the unwanted product placement as a gift for customers makes the intrusion feel even more cynical.
BMW began playing this Spider-Man Movie Ad inside the new iX3 upon entering the vehicle. This is craaazy 😂 pic.twitter.com/j1DSPvLPr2August 4, 2026
seems crazy.The movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day paid BMW to take over the display of every BMW made after 2020.When you start a BMW, it shows you an ad for Spider Man. Really cheapens BMW imo. https://t.co/ylW3Jgearw pic.twitter.com/OWBBVTMMP3August 3, 2026
Of all the brands I thought might bombard with in car ads on screen right when you start the engine,?I had BMW pretty dang low on my list. This seems the opposite of luxury and performance. https://t.co/EXobunXxkEAugust 2, 2026
The Jaguar rebrand was widely misunderstood. The company probably should have put more narrative on the vehicles than the fashion shoots, but the launch campaign generated massive visibility and a spoke in awareness and traffic for what was previously a dead brand walking.
BMW is very much an alive brand, but one that's been stabbing itself in the foot (it previously tried to subscription-lock pre-installed seat-heating hardware). Again, it's upset existing customers and cheapened its brand. This ad was relatively discreet; the problem is what it represents. BMW's just shown it can deliver an advertising space with a reach of millions. It will now be trying to get the measure of how much further it can push that without catastrophically harming the brand's perceived quality.
