Owners of BMW vehicles in over 70 nations, including Brazil, were surprised by the spontaneous appearance of a Spider-Man animation on their car's infotainment system without any prior request. This content, associated with the film Spider-Man: Brand New Day, produced by Sony in partnership with Marvel, was accessible between July 27 and August 10 and triggered a series of complaints on social media and specialized forums.
The German automaker contested the claim that it was advertising. The display sequence began with a banner informing about a new feature in the Control Display. By interacting with this notice, the driver was presented with a video of approximately 19 seconds in full screen, accompanied by a soundtrack and synchronization with the vehicle's interior lighting, where Spider-Man jumped over a BMW model.
This update reached vehicles manufactured from July 2020 onwards, which had the BMW Operating System in versions 7, 8, 8.5, 9, or X, provided they were equipped with the native Festive App.
The dissatisfaction was intensified by the history of the situation. In 2023, Stephan Durach, who at the time led BMW's software development, publicly stated that the car's interior and its screens constituted a private space, and that the company did not plan to broadcast advertisements in these locations. Two years later, the display of a third-party promotion on the Control Display caused this statement to be cited again in owners' criticisms.
BMW maintained the same position to various media outlets: the display is classified as a commemorative animation provided by the Festive App, inserted within the context of the collaboration with Sony and Marvel, and not as an advertisement according to the company's own definition. However, some customers disagree with this distinction, with reports that people searched through menus to prevent the notice from reappearing. It is important to note that the content was limited to the infotainment system, without interfering with the instrument panel or safety alerts, and was only played upon activation.
This initiative is part of a broader agreement between the automaker and the studio. Models such as the iX3, belonging to the new generation Neue Klasse, and the 5 Series are presented integrated into the narrative of the film, which premiered in cinemas on July 31. For the launch occasion, BMW also created an exclusive example, the iX3 Flow – Spider-Man Brand New Day, which features colored electronic paint panels displaying animated graphics on the body. This car is on display at BMW Welt in Munich until September.
For owners who expressed dissatisfaction, the main issue is not the film or the character, but the precedent set: if the manufacturer can insert a promotional animation into an already purchased vehicle, there is no impediment for the screen space to become a media point. This reflects a debate similar to that involving televisions and cell phones subsidized by advertising, now transferred to a high-value item considered private by the consumer.