What you will find in the article:
- Spider-Man's popularity drives diverse advertising partnerships across various industries.
- Advertising campaigns often integrate products into Spider-Man's cinematic universe.
- The evolution of Spider-Man marketing reflects changes in consumer engagement strategies.
- Successful ads blend storytelling with product promotion, resembling film scenes.
- Notable brands include Hyundai, Dell, and TikTok in recent campaigns.
The new release, which has just arrived in cinemas, opens another chapter in an extraordinarily successful film series. Its immediate predecessor, Spider-Man: No Way Home, earned approximately $1.91 billion worldwide during its original theatrical run. This result demonstrates that Spider-Man is not merely a popular character among devoted comic-book fans but also a globally recognisable cultural brand capable of appealing to audiences of different ages and nationalities. The size and diversity of this audience are among the reasons why Spider-Man’s world is so attractive to advertisers. In addition to the existing Tom Holland trilogy, which the new film follows, the franchise also includes the earlier live-action films starring Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, the animated Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse series and films devoted to other characters from Spider-Man’s world.
Brands caught in Spider-Man’s web
Spider-Man is an appealing advertising character not only because of his popularity. He can be both the hero of a spectacular action sequence and an awkward young man who uses his abilities with a sense of humour. His webs, his movement between skyscrapers and his life in a major city also offer motifs that can be used by car, technology and consumer-goods brands. His versatility is another advantage. Spider-Man has appeared in comic books, live-action and animated films, television series and video games. Creative teams can choose between cinematic action, comedy, animation and comic-book stylisation, allowing them to appeal to different generations of viewers.
Spider-Man films are generally accompanied by extensive partnership campaigns that extend far beyond products promoted on television. This was not always the case, however. The marketing partnerships associated with the first Spider-Man film in 2002 reflected a period when film premieres were promoted primarily through television commercials, product packaging, competitions and in-store events. The film’s main partners included Dr Pepper, Hardee’s and Hershey’s. Spider-Man appeared on drinks cans, cups and confectionery packaging, as well as in advertisements for the fast-food chain. The campaign therefore relied primarily on mass reach and the idea that consumers could take the film’s hero home with them alongside an everyday product.
Video: Spider-Man Dr Pepper commercial – 2002
Nineteen years later, Spider-Man: No Way Home was accompanied by partnership support with an estimated media value of $202 million. Sony Pictures worked with brands including Hyundai, Liberty Mutual, TikTok, Fortnite, PUBG Mobile, Asus Republic of Gamers, Xiaomi, iQOO, Continental and Tampico Beverages. Hyundai placed its cars directly in the film and produced a separate commercial starring Tom Holland and Jacob Batalon, while TikTok created content linked to the fictional newspaper The Daily Bugle. Fortnite and PUBG Mobile brought Spider-Man into their gaming environments, offering players themed costumes and other digital elements.
A film within an advertisement, or an advertisement within a film?
Campaigns inspired by Spider-Man are usually at their most convincing when a brand does not simply place the hero in an ordinary commercial as decoration but instead finds a place for its product within his world. The result can feel like a short scene taken directly from a film, even though its actual purpose is to present a car, computer or technological solution.
One of the most successful examples is the 2017 Audi commercial “Driver’s Test”, created for the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming. In the advertisement, Peter Parker takes his driving test and secretly uses his abilities to prevent a robbery. His examiner does not see his heroic intervention and is far more impressed by the Audi’s driver-assistance features. The commercial draws on a simple contradiction: Spider-Man may be capable of stopping criminals, but as a fifteen-year-old student he still needs to obtain a driving licence. Its creators also had to solve a rather unusual production problem. Audi wanted to present the next-generation technology of its new A8 model, but an embargo in place at the time meant that it could not yet show the entire vehicle. The result was an advertisement that felt like a self-contained scene from a film and won a Shorty Award in the automotive category.
Video: Spider-Man: Homecoming: Driver’s Test
That same year, Dell placed its advertisement in Peter Parker’s school environment. In its commercial, “Peter Parker’s Daydream”, Peter sits at his desk in the classroom and, instead of paying attention to the lesson, watches Spider-Man fighting the Vulture on a laptop. The fantasy gradually develops into an extensive action sequence until the teacher brings Peter back to reality. The advertisement introduced the new Dell Inspiron 15 7000 Gaming laptop, while also building on Peter’s interest in science and technology. The partnership extended beyond television advertising. Dell products also appeared in the film, while Sony Pictures Imageworks used the company’s technology to create the visual effects.
Video: Dell commercial – Spider-Man: Homecoming
Audi returned to Spider-Man two years later for the release of Spider-Man: Far From Home. In the humorous commercial “Science Fair”, Peter Parker and Ned Leeds try to succeed in a school science competition. While their classmates present experiments of their own, Peter obtains an Audi e-tron GT electric car as his exhibit. The campaign combined television advertising with product placement. In addition to the e-tron GT concept, the Audi e-tron, A7 and Q8 models also appeared in the film. Once again, the commercial used Peter’s school as its setting. This time, however, rather than focusing on his driving test, it made use of his reputation as a technically gifted student.
Video: Audi – Science Fair – Spider-Man
Hyundai became the automotive partner for Spider-Man: No Way Home. In the extended version of the commercial “Only Way Home”, Peter Parker hides outside the city after his identity is revealed. Because he no longer wants, or is no longer able, to travel as Spider-Man, he sets out with Ned on a journey of approximately 300 miles to New York in a Hyundai IONIQ 5 electric car. For most of the advertisement, the two characters simply talk inside the car, with the story relying heavily on their friendly teasing. Here, the car is not used as part of a superhero intervention. Instead, it offers a peaceful refuge from the consequences of Peter’s identity being exposed. A thirty-second version of the film was produced for television broadcast in the United States, Europe and other regions. It was the first film campaign created as part of the wider partnership between Hyundai and Sony Pictures, which was established in 2020.
Video: Hyundai IONIQ 5, Spider-Man: No Way Home – Only Way Home
A new film, new advertisements
As the premiere of Spider-Man: Brand New Day approached, a new wave of campaigns naturally began to appear, using both characters from the film series and familiar motifs from Spider-Man’s world.
Ned Leeds, played by Jacob Batalon, is the central character in the Liquid I.V. commercial “Your Friendly Neighborhood Hydration Brand”. During a hot day in New York, Ned remains oblivious to the dangers surrounding him and to Spider-Man, who repeatedly saves him. The advertisement draws on their relationship from the film series and builds its humour around the fact that Ned barely notices the hero’s assistance.
Video: Spider-Man: Brand New Day x Liquid I.V.
Liquid I.V. is the film’s official partner in the functional hydration drink category. The collaboration also includes two limited-edition Liquid I.V. flavours in packaging connected with the new film.
For the premiere, Samsung opted for a more extensive integration of its Galaxy devices with the film’s world. At the heart of the collaboration is the Spidey Tracker, a digital tool created in the style of the technology used by Ned Leeds in Spider-Man’s world. The partnership was followed by a cinematic commercial featuring Jacob Batalon, Spider-Man and Galaxy Z phones. Set in Peter Parker’s flat, the advertisement combines newly filmed advertising scenes with footage from the film.
Video: A Brand New Shape for a Brand New Day | Samsung
Little Caesars, meanwhile, launched the Webberoni pizza, topped with strips of grated cheese and pepperoni arranged to create a web pattern. The campaign also included a series of commercials and a New York installation designed to resemble Peter Parker’s flat. The creative concept was developed by McKinney, while the commercial “Just Like Spider-Man” was directed by Greg Bell.
Video: Little Caesars Pizza x Spider-Man: Brand New Day
A commercial released by BMW in July 2026 presented two “heroes of a new day”: Spider-Man and the new BMW iX3. The vehicle does not appear merely as a means of transport but as the superhero’s equal partner. The campaign therefore connects a new chapter in the film series with the beginning of a new era for BMW’s electric models. Rather than providing a detailed list of technical specifications, it emphasises rapid responsiveness, precision and dynamism, qualities that can be associated both with Spider-Man’s abilities and with driving the vehicle. BMW also plays with the connection between Spider-Man’s “spider-sense” and the car’s sensors.
Video: Swing into Action with Spider-Man and the BMW iX3
BMW states that the iX3 appears in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Footage from the production also captured Tom Holland on the roof of a BMW 5 Series. This means that another of the manufacturer’s models appears in the film alongside the promoted iX3. At the very least, the film features the BMW iX3 and BMW 5 Series, while the advertising campaign focuses primarily on the electric iX3.
The more, the better
In Spider-Man 2, the hero does not rely on a single web when attempting to stop a runaway train. He fires strand after strand until their combined strength brings the train to a halt. The marketing surrounding the new premiere works in a surprisingly similar way. Brands place Spider-Man in advertisements, products, games and digital content. Each additional point of contact with viewers acts as another strand of webbing, strengthening the hero’s presence in their everyday lives. The premiere does not begin when audiences enter the cinema. It begins long before that, at the moment when the individual strands start to join to form a single web.
Sources: marvel.com, boxofficemojo.com, deadline.com, shortyawards.com, sonypictures.com, hyundai.newss, facebook.com