'This Is Not Cool' — BMW Owners Are Annoyed Over a New Spider-Man Ad Forced Into Their Cars
BMW owners have discovered that a Spider-Man: Brand New Day ad has been forcefully added to their car's infotainment system.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is the movie that none of us can escape. It's smashing box office records, filling our social media feeds with memes and theories, and now, it's taking over people's cars. Owners of relatively recent BMW models have noticed that the web-swinger himself is now part of their infotainment screen's selection of apps. When starting the car, drivers are greeted with a message stating that Spider-Man has "dropped into your BMW," which is a vaguely threatening and ominious message in itself.
You can, of course, ignore it if you wish but if you click on it, it will play an ad for Spider-Man and BMW. Once it ends, a QR code will pop up and take users to a page where they can build a new BMW iX3 car, which in itself is a bit absurd. Bought a BMW in the last few years? Here's an ad for another new $60,000+ car!
If you skip the ad or want to watch it later, there will be a Spider-Man app in your infotainment screen to let you watch it. And in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, a BMW driver activates sport mode on their car to help Spidey chase after some bad guys. It's a pretty ridiculous tie-in, and drivers aren't exactly thrilled about it.
On Reddit, some have called it "dystopian" and drawn comparisons to when Apple added a U2 album to everyone's iPhones. Others have suggested that this kind of advertising shouldn't be allowed and expressed frustration over how disruptive it is for a premium vehicle.
"People think 'finding' ad space like this is revolutionary," said one user. "Unfortunately, it pays well. Wish we had more regulations in place so not every inch of every screen could be utilized to shove marketing campaigns down our throats."
Some have expressed that this is a slippery slope, noting that even though it's optional now, how long will it be before it's not? BMW has been in hot water for unsavory practices before. Previously, the car manufacturer offered heated seats through a subscription service, but canceled it after intense backlash from customers.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.