The Spider-Man promotion appears inside BMW’s infotainment system
Owners of relatively recent BMW models report seeing a Spider-Man: Brand New Day item added to their infotainment screens. As our sister site IGN Middle East reports, the car displays a startup message saying that Spider-Man has “dropped into your BMW”.
Opening the item plays a promotional video featuring Spider-Man and BMW. When the video ends, a QR code directs viewers to a BMW page where they can configure a BMW iX3.
Drivers can ignore the prompt or skip the video, according to the reports. A Spider-Man app icon remains in the infotainment app list afterwards, allowing the video to be opened later. The available accounts do not describe the promotion blocking vehicle settings or other core functions.
The film tie-in also extends to Spider-Man: Brand New Day itself, where a BMW driver activates Sport mode to help Spider-Man pursue villains. The infotainment campaign turns that product placement into a promotion delivered inside cars that owners have already bought.
Owners object to unsolicited advertising in a paid vehicle
The criticism centres on BMW placing promotional content inside a privately owned car without asking the driver first. Reddit users have described the campaign as “dystopian”, disruptive, and an unwelcome use of a premium vehicle’s central display.
Some owners have compared it with Apple adding U2’s album to users’ music libraries. Others fear that an optional movie promotion could establish a precedent for more persistent advertising across vehicle screens.
The immediate campaign can be skipped, but its placement is the issue. An infotainment screen controls navigation, media, connectivity, and vehicle settings, so promotional additions deserve clearer consent and removal controls than an advert on a free media service.
BMW already has a difficult history with post-purchase software
BMW previously faced substantial criticism for charging subscriptions to activate hardware already installed in some cars. BBC reporting on the scheme detailed subscriptions for heated seats and heated steering wheels offered through BMW’s ConnectedDrive store in selected markets.
BMW stopped selling subscriptions for built-in hardware such as heated seats in 2023. The company did not abandon post-purchase software services, however: TechSpot reported on BMW’s continued commitment to software subscriptions after executives acknowledged that the heated-seat approach had been a mistake.
The Spider-Man promotion is advertising rather than a paid feature unlock, but both demonstrate how connected cars can change after delivery. Software can add useful services, yet it also gives manufacturers continuing control over what appears on a dashboard long after the sale.
BMW has not detailed a permanent opt-out
Drivers can ignore or skip the reported promotion, but BMW has not published instructions for permanently removing the Spider-Man app. The company has also not identified the affected models and markets, how long the campaign will run, or whether owners can decline similar content in future.
Those controls should be explicit. A dismiss button deals with one video; a proper preference would let the owner decide whether promotional apps and partner campaigns belong on the car’s screen at all.
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