WSJournal. Has Apple Lost Its Cool to Samsung?

Samsung Electronics Co. 005930.SE -2.48% is succeeding where other technology companies have tried and failed: closing the coolness gap with Apple Inc. AAPL -2.36%

The deep-pocketed Korean company has used a combination of engineering prowess, manufacturing heft and marketing savvy to create smartphones that can rival the iPhone in both sales and appeal.

A Samsung television commercial pokes fun at Apple's iPhone.

Samsung, the market leader in smartphones, on Friday said its fourth-quarter profit surged 76% to a record high on the strength of smartphone sales, including its Galaxy S line. The latest version is considered comparable by many shoppers in both design and technical features.

Apple, meanwhile, reignited concerns about demand for its iPhone 5 after reporting flat earnings for the holiday quarter, sending its stock down 14% in the past two days. The stock has also dropped 37% since hitting an all-time high on Sept. 19, just two days before the iPhone 5 launched in stores.

At that time, Samsung had just unleashed an aggressive marketing campaign including a television commercial that poked fun at the iPhone 5. "The next big thing is already here," the spot said, referring to its Galaxy S III phone.

The ad was part of a more than $200 million U.S. marketing blitz that Samsung launched in 2011 to lampoon Apple, according to Kantar Media. The creative vision for those ads was a former Nike NKE +3.14% executive, Todd Pendleton, who now runs Samsung's marketing in the U.S.

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