In the courtroom, Apple and Samsung like to accuse the over of being a copycat. Neither could make that claim when it comes to digital advertising tactics.

This week, as both device makers rolled out spots on YouTube for their latest flagship smartphones, the marketing contrast was clear.

Apple introduced its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus with just three digital creative pieces. By Thursday, the trio netted 19.6 million views, according to Visible Measures, which catalogues overall spread with its 'True Reach' metric. Apple also accrued 162,000 social interactions.

Samsung successfully countered. More than a dozen videos introducing the Galaxy Note 4, from the U.S. and international marketing divisions, scored 61 million views. The digital videos, fifteen in total, prompted 200,000 social interactions, according to Visible Measures. The week of Apple's iPhone announcement, Samsung topped Visible Measures' viral video chart.

Apple also tapped its ferocious brand loyalty: its videos scored an additional 1.67 million views from user-generated uploads. Samsung had no user-generated assets.

The iPhone-maker did this, as it always does, without a cent of paid media.

Data from Strike Social compared the smartphone giants in social impressions, across paid, owned and earned media. Of the top U.S. handset companies, Samsung spends the most by far in social promotion -- putting down $22.3 million for its videos, scoring 101 million earned impressions. Apple, by contrast, earns 19.1 million impressions, without any paid input.

On Friday, Apple scored another coup against its foe. Ellen DeGeneres, the celebrity behind Samsung's heralded 'Oscar selfie' -- subject of chest-thumping from the company and its media agency -- sent out a tweet from her show's account.

Here's my first selfie with my new iPhone 6 Plus! pic.twitter.com/OOmi2FggzV

— Ellen DeGeneres (@TheEllenShow) September 19, 2014