BMW Delivers Spider-Man Ads to Cars Owners Already Paid For
BMW Spider-Man in-car advertising
In July 2026, BMW began pushing a full-screen Spider-Man: Brand New Day advertisement to the dashboard screens of customer vehicles across more than 70 markets. This move contradicts a 2023 statement by executive Stephan Durach, who previously declared the car a private space unsuitable for commercials. The campaign, part of a record-breaking $309 million partnership with Sony Pictures, has sparked debate over whether automakers are overstepping ownership boundaries by monetizing features buyers have already purchased.
I own a house, and I make payments to a mortgage company every month, and I'm pretty sure it would be illegal for that mortgage company to put a fucking Spider-Man billboard in my yard, facing my front windows. Is what BMW is doing any different?
- helterskelter
Great way to tank a brand. Part of BMW's value is/was the expectation of an upper middle class snob driving it, but having your car force ads on you is something people wouldn't even expect from a Kia Soul leased off a used lot.
- narmiouh
Samsung the same with their display on fridge, I'm not sure how is this legal and why someone thinks this is ok.
These decision makers are meant to be educated people with may be at least a tiny bit of values in their lives...
- DrewADesign
I wonder if they say: "A new life awaits you in the Off-world colonies. The chance to begin again in a golden land of opportunity and adventure."
- c7b
It sounds awful, but it might not even make the top-5 of the most annoying/concering things you'll get in a new car (bought in the EU at least), many of which are now mandatory by regulation. What you'll also get is a camera that tracks your eye movements to play an alert when they're not on the road, an alarm when you drive over the allowed speed limit as determined by a camera, an alarm plus a mechanical yanking of your driving wheel when you're approaching the side of your lane without a turn signal on. As a cherry on top it's unclear what happens with all the data generated by these systems. And I'm probably forgetting a few.
I'm wondering what a good cutoff date is when considering buying a used car.
- fumeux_fume
> BMW's own PressClub release described the advertisement as a special surprise for drivers...
That one got a chuckle out of me
- walrus01
If please drink a verification can was applied to automobiles.
- OsrsNeedsf2P
Great to see the Consumer Rights wiki has been picking up steam. Lots of passionate people behind the project
- DanOpcode
Wouldn't it be fair if BMW at least shared the advertisement revenue with the car owners?
It's so ugly that they first sell cars, and profit from that. And then they utilize the fleet of cars to squeeze out more revenue, even though that was never part of the contract to begin with. What right does BMW have to do that?
If they found a new revenue source, it would be nice if they at least shared that with their customers. Now it's just abuse of their customers. Where BMW is one-sided profiting while the customers are suffering.