BMW Owners Protest Spider-Man Movie Ad on Car Screens: Company Touts “Special Surprise”

BMW has partnered with Sony Pictures and Marvel to place a specially-made BMW iX3 Flow – Spider-Man Brand New Day Edition and 5-series sedan in the new movie Spider-Man Brand New Day, but car owners are upset to see what they are calling a forced ad when they step into their vehicles. The “special surprise”, as BMW officially describes it, is a banner that appears on the central infotainment screen. When tapped, it launches a full-screen video with sound and synchronised ambient lighting effects.

The ad is visible as soon as the car is started, which critics have called a distraction and an unwelcome intrusion in their expensive luxury vehicles. In a video clip posted to Reddit, a BMW car can be seen driving down the streets of New York City, with Spider-Man swinging between buildings above it. The ad ends with a QR code and announcement that the movie is now playing in cinemas. An app icon is also placed on the infotainment system homescreen so users can replay the ad.

Commenters on social media quickly pointed out the similarity to Apple forcibly adding U2’s Songs of Innocence album to millions of people’s iPods and iPhones in 2014, and compared the experience to being forced to watch ads on public transit rather than sitting in a luxury car.

According to an official BMW press statement, the “exclusive” animation will be shown between July 27 and August 10, on supported models in over 70 countries. Owners will need to be running BMW Operating System 7–9 or X, in a vehicle manufactured in or after July 2020. ACKO Drive has reached out to BMW India to confirm whether the promotion is being carried out here.

Spider-Man Brand New Day is already proving to be a blockbuster success, with its trailer crossing a billion views in a record four days. It also reportedly earned over $₹67 million (approximately ₹639.1 crore) at the box office in the USA on its opening day, an all-time high, plus another ₹70 crore in India. This gives BMW massive amounts of exposure.

The movie features the Neue Klasse-based BMW iX3 Flow – Spider-Man Brand New Day edition, which has full-colour e-ink on its exterior. It’s an evolution of the BMW iX3 Flow Edition concept shown off in April this year with e-ink integrated into the surface of its bonnet. This allows the driver to instantly switch between multiple patterns or animations. At the time of its unveiling, BMW said the technology was ready for mass production, and would enable a new level of personalisation and expression.

Spider-Man fans will also see product placement showing off BMW’s Panoramic Display, driver assistance features, panoramic glass sunroof, and Sport Mode driving dynamics. The regular iX3 SUV is likely to launch in India soon, based on regulatory filings. It is BMW’s first production model to use the Neue Klasse design and technology platform, with BMW's sixth-gen eDrive technology, a dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrain, and 800V battery architecture.

The special-edition iX3 was featured on the red carpet at the movie’s premiere in Los Angeles and will go on display at BMW Welt in Munich next. The company has also unveiled a special one-off Spider-Man livery for its M Hybrid V8 GTP car at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race this Sunday. 

The move comes shortly after a bespoke Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Manufaktur sedan was featured in The Devil Wears Prada 2.

BMW was previously in the news for trying to monetise common car features, particularly seat warming, through a monthly subscription. The company was harshly criticised for charging owners to use hardware already installed in their vehicles.