Apparently, no place is safe from ads in 2026, not even the dashboard of your own car.
BMW is currently using the control displays in some of its vehicles to promote the new movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The German automaker calls it a “special surprise” for drivers meant to celebrate its broader brand partnership with the film.
Since July 27, drivers of supported BMW vehicles have been greeted by a special banner on the control display when they start their cars. Selecting the banner launches what BMW describes as a full-screen “festive animation,” complete with backing music and a light show from the vehicle’s ambient lighting system.
The promotion is available in more than 70 countries for BMWs built after July 2020 that run one of several supported operating systems. It is scheduled to run through August 10.
It didn’t take long for upset drivers to go online and trash the ad.
“Of all the brands I thought might bombard with in car ads on screen right when you start the engine,?I had BMW pretty dang low on my list,” wrote one user on X. “This seems the opposite of luxury and performance.”
Another user wrote, “Really cheapens BMW imo.”
While BMW is not the first automaker to experiment with in-car advertising, the move is particularly polarizing for the company.
seems crazy.
The movie Spider-Man: Brand New Day paid BMW to take over the display of every BMW made after 2020.
When you start a BMW, it shows you an ad for Spider Man. Really cheapens BMW imo. https://t.co/ylW3Jgearw pic.twitter.com/OWBBVTMMP3
— Sheel Mohnot (@pitdesi) August 3, 2026
In 2023, BMW Group Senior Vice President for Connected Company Development Stephan Durach pushed back on the idea that the automaker would ever sell ads to display in its cars.
“To say I’m selling the screen to play a commercial – I don’t see it. It’s a private space,” Durach said at the time.
This is also not the first time BMW has faced backlash over an attempt to squeeze more money out of cars after they have already been sold. In 2023, the company pulled a controversial paid subscription to activate heated seats already installed in their vehicles following a similar customer backlash.
This time, BMW is framing the dashboard promotion as a limited, one-off experience connected to a much larger marketing deal with Sony Pictures.
“As previous stories have noted, the in-vehicle animation is part of a much broader brand partnership which included product placement in the movie and a special edition vehicle on the red carpet of the Los Angeles premiere,” a company spokesperson told Gizmodo in an emailed statement. “The animation is available for a limited time and only visible to drivers who proactively initiate it on their vehicle’s touch screen.”
It remains to be seen whether this is truly a one-off stunt or just the start of ads creeping onto even more screens.
