Samsung has plowed more money into its U.S. marketing campaign in 2012 than its rival Apple, which in the previous year was spending more than three times than Samsung's outlay, according to a report published by ad research company Kantar Media. Samsung spent $401 million in 2012 on print, billboard and online advertising, compared to Apple's $333 million.

While Microsoft was reported to have spent north of $500 million on Windows 8 marketing, Samsung's efforts in 2012 — when the Galaxy smartphones came second to iPhone in sales — seem to have paid off the most. The South Korean company is introducing Galaxy S4 Thursday in New York City and its billboards have been prominently featured in Times Square, even drawing a trolling response from LG.

The Wall Street Journal reported Kantar Media's findings. HTC, BlackBerry and Nokia — in that order — follow Samsung and Apple in terms of dollars spent in their marketing efforts. Samsung's 20-percent spending edge on Apple shows its determination, a T-Mobile executive said.

"They understand how to build a strong product ... and have been willing to invest to drive their success," Michael Sievert, chief marketing officer of T-Mobile USA Inc., a unit of Deutsche Telekom DTE, told WSJ.

Apple has long been known for its powerful branding and is still ahead, but Samsung is catching up. Analytics firm Ace Metrix in January said Apple's iPhone is the most effective mobile phone brand in the U.S. but also recognized Samsung as the top technology brand of 2012.

MacRumors points out that Ken Segall, the creative director behind several of Apple's ad campaigns, including "Think Different," has challenged Apple to respond to Samsung's marketing success.