# ‘This Is Not Cool’ — BMW Owners Are Annoyed Over a New Spider-Man Ad Forced Into Their Cars

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/this-is-not-cool-bmw-owners-are-annoyed-over-a-new-spider-man-ad-forced-into-their-cars/
- Published: 2026-08-06T00:59:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-06T04:15:12+00:00
- Original publisher: IGN
- Original article: https://www.ign.com/articles/this-is-not-cool-bmw-owners-are-annoyed-over-a-new-spider-man-ad-forced-into-their-cars
- Topics: Gaming

## Key points

- BMW pushed a Spider-Man film advert onto owners' infotainment screens
- Ad links to a QR code promoting a new BMW iX3 purchase
- Owners call it "dystopian," recalling Apple's forced U2 album backlash

## Summary

BMW has begun forcing a promotional advert for the film Spider-Man: Brand New Day onto the infotainment systems of recent car models, sparking complaints from owners who see it as an unwelcome intrusion. On starting the car, drivers are shown a message saying Spider-Man has "dropped into your BMW," and clicking it plays an advert followed by a QR code directing users to a page for configuring a new BMW iX3. The tie-in stems from a scene in the film in which a BMW driver uses sport mode to help Spider-Man pursue villains, but the unsolicited nature of the marketing has drawn criticism online.

On Reddit, owners have branded the move "dystopian," comparing it to Apple's much-criticised automatic addition of a U2 album to iPhones in 2014, and have called for tighter regulation of in-car advertising. Although the ad and its accompanying Spider-Man app can be skipped or ignored, critics worry it sets a precedent that could make such intrusions harder to avoid in future. This is not the first time BMW has faced backlash over its approach to features on owned vehicles: the firm previously offered heated seats via a paid subscription before scrapping the scheme following widespread customer anger.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.