Samsung's $4.3B ad budget: It's not just for mocking Apple

A $45 million lawsuit suggests that Samsung also spends a fortune on refrigerator ads.

Source: Asmyco.com

FORTUNE -- We've learned a couple of things since November when Asymco's Horace Dediu surprised us with his estimate that Samsung spends more on marketing than Apple (AAPL), HP (HPQ), Dell (DELL) Microsoft (MSFT) and Coca Cola (KO) combined.

1. We learned that Dediu's estimate was a few billion dollars short. According to the update he posted Tuesday based on Samsung's latest quarterly report, the Korean manufacturing giant spent $4.3 billion in 2012 on advertising alone. It spent even more -- $5.3 billion -- on Sales Promotion/Marketing, whatever that entails.
2. We also learned that not all of Samsung's ad budget was used to pay for cheeky Galaxy smartphone ads. The $45 million lawsuit it filed last month against LG Electronics for allegedly "tarnishing its corporate image" in LG's refrigerator commercials offers a glimpse into the high-stakes ad war the two companies have fighting in the global appliance market.

Below: Battling TV ads from the two contenders.

Samsung:

LG:

Posted in: Advertising, Apple, Applicances, Asymco, Horace Dediu, LG, Marketing, Refrigerators, Samsung, Smartphones

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