BMW’s Spider-Man dashboard ad put a startup banner for Spider-Man: Brand New Day on the main center display of eligible vehicles in roughly 70 markets, prompting criticism from drivers who saw a movie promotion where they expected their usual car interface. The campaign was part of BMW’s collaboration with Sony and Marvel, according to Business Insider.
The important technical detail is less dramatic than some of the online reaction suggests. The film animation did not begin playing automatically when the vehicle started. A banner appeared at startup, and a driver had to tap it to launch the full-screen sequence. Business Insider reported that the animation ran on BMW’s Control Display and synchronized with the vehicle’s ambient lighting.
What did the BMW Spider-Man dashboard ad show?
The startup banner read, “Surprise! Spider-Man just dropped into your BMW!”, Business Insider reported. Tapping it opened an animation of a BMW moving through a city while Spider-Man swung overhead. It ended with a card promoting the theatrical release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
The New York Post reported that drivers could decline to open the animation, but would still see the startup banner. That distinction is doing a fair bit of work in BMW’s response: the company described the feature as optional, while critics focused on the unsolicited branded message appearing before they chose anything.
Which BMWs were included?
BMW said the promotion was scheduled to run from July 27 through August 10, 2026, in around 70 markets. It applied to suitably equipped cars built after July 2020, Business Insider reported. The New York Post listed BMW Operating Systems 7, 8, 8.5, 9 and X among the affected software versions. The reporting does not establish that every BMW made after that date received the banner.
BMW told Business Insider that the Festive App used for the animation was intended for optional themed messages and animations tied to global and local occasions, and said it was “not a form of advertising.” That label has not persuaded many commenters on Reddit and X, where the campaign drew complaints about a third-party movie promotion on screens in privately owned cars.
Why are drivers calling it an ad?
BMW has used the same general display mechanism for its own Christmas and New Year greetings for several years, Business Insider reported. The Spider-Man campaign differs because it markets a film from a partner and closes with a cinema-release card.
The episode also revived comments from BMW executive Stephan Durach in December 2023. Durach, then the company’s senior vice president for connected company development, said he did not expect BMW to sell in-car screen space for commercials because the cabin was “a private space,” according to Business Insider. BMW has instead characterized this limited film tie-in as a Festive App experience, not an ad sale. The banner and the company’s description are now the dispute, not a mystery of interface mechanics.
This story draws on original reporting from Daring Fireball.