On July 27, 2026, BMW began delivering full-screen advertisements for the film Spider-Man: Brand New Day to the Control Display (the car’s main screen) of customer BMW vehicles, placing a third-party advertisement in cars that owners had already purchased.[1][2] The advertisement appears as a banner when starting the car, and the driver can click to play a full-screen animation with background music and ambient lighting display, and it has been available in over 70 markets since July 27, 2026, scheduled to end on August 10, 2026, in properly equipped vehicles running BMW Operating System 7, 8, 8.5, 9 or OS X built after July 2020.[1][3] In December 2023, BMW’s Senior Vice President of the connected company, Stephan Durach, had officially declared that the company would not sell screen space in the car to play a commercial, calling the car private space.[4] BMW described the animation to The Autopian as part of a broader brand partnership with the film, the automotive part of a promotional campaign by Sony Pictures that Deadline evaluated at a record worldwide media value of $309 million.[2][5]
The advertisement was made available in over 70 markets since July 27, 2026, with a limited window scheduled to end on August 10, 2026.[1] Eligibility was broad. Any BMW properly equipped running BMW Operating System 7, 8, 8.5, 9 or OS X, with a production date after July 2020, could receive it.[1]
BMW presented the animation as a benefit rather than an interference, presenting it as tied to the film partnership, and not as commercial content pushed to the vehicle. When asked about the deployment, BMW told The Autopian in an email statement:
‘The in-vehicle animation is part of a broader brand partnership with the film. Some of our vehicles, including the BMW iX3, were in the film, and a special edition iX3 was featured on the red carpet during the premiere last night in Los Angeles.’
Regarding consumer response, Jason Torchinsky, writing for The Autopian, objected to the deployment on grounds of property, framing the advertisement as something imposed on property that the driver had already paid for. He made a comparison with a homeowner making mortgage payments:
‘I have 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 Spider-Man sign in my backyard, facing my front windows. What BMW is doing is different?’
The Autopian also pointed out that BMW had already been forced to abandon a previous post-sale monetization attempt, the heated seat subscription, after buyers reacted against it.[2]
In the industry context, Torchinsky placed BMW’s action alongside advertising in previous Stellantis vehicles, which he wrote had done the same before BMW.[2] The Spider-Man animation was the automotive part of a promotional campaign by Sony Pictures that Deadline reported with a worldwide media value of $309 million, described as an all-time record for any Hollywood film and ahead of Sony’s previous record of $288 million for Spider-Man: Far From Home.[5] Deadline named BMW as a global partner that wove its Neue Klasse iX3 and 5 Series Sedan into the film.[5]