When a premium car brand like BMW says it has a \u201cspecial surprise\u201d in store for drivers, I\u2019d expect something more luxurious than having a movie commercial beamed onto the dashboard. That\u2019s exactly what\u2019s happening to many BMW owners, however, who are being shown banner ads for Spider-man: Brand New Day on their Control Display upon starting the vehicle.<\/p>\n
In a statement to The Autopian<\/a>, BMW confirmed that the ads are definitely real, serving as part of \u201ca broader brand partnership\u201d with the new Marvel movie. BMW\u2019s own announcement<\/a> also confirms that the ads are running from July 27th until August 10th, and reveals how widespread they are:<\/p>\n \u201cThese festive animations will be available in more than 70 countries worldwide for vehicles equipped with the relevant optional equipment and BMW Operating System 7, 8, 8.5, 9 or BMW Operating System X, as well as a production date after 7\/2020.\u201d<\/p>\n Tapping on the ad displays a full-screen animation of Spider-Man swinging around BMW\u2019s iX3 electronic SUV, complete with music, and even a \u201clight show\u201d if your car has an ambient lighting system. If you choose not to play the ad immediately, it\u2019ll be added to the infotainment display as an app that you can view later.<\/p>\n While the animation itself doesn\u2019t play automatically, BMW owners<\/a> across social media<\/a> are understandably disgruntled about advertising content being funneled into vehicles they\u2019ve paid for \u2014 especially given BMW Group\u2019s Senior VP, Stephan Durach, explicitly said<\/a> the company wouldn\u2019t do so. BMW has released seasonal display animations for Halloween<\/a> and Christmas<\/a> before, but referring to these Spider-Man ads as \u201cfestive\u201d is really taking some liberties.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve seen similar behavior from Stellantis<\/a> in the past, with pop-up ads appearing in Jeep, Ram, and Chrysler vehicle displays, but it\u2019s surprising to see a luxury car maker like BMW following that precedent. Then again, this is the same company that tried to charge its customers a monthly subscription to use heated seats<\/a> that were already installed, so maybe it isn\u2019t that surprising.<\/p>\n