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In eschewing a speech for a day of shoe-leather campaigning, Ms. Quinn, a Democrat, is opting for an intimate approach to a high-profile moment of her mayoral bid, a contrast to the businesslike style of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, her political ally and the man she hopes to replace in City Hall.

Yet the Christine Quinn who appears in the highly polished video is a far cry from the head-clunking, hard-nosed deal maker who maintains an iron rule over the City Council. Here, she is seen in a warm, welcoming pose, clad in a fuzzy fuchsia blazer and floral necklace, chatting amiably at the counter of a 1950s-style diner complete with a covered glass cake stand.

Accompanied by piano music, Ms. Quinn, 46, reminisces about her father's union activism and middle-class upbringing on Long Island. She names legislation she shepherded through the Council, highlighted by on-screen graphics like "good public schools" and "affordable child care." She becomes misty-eyed as she describes her mother's death from breast cancer when Ms. Quinn was a teenager.

"My mother's life and death left me with the belief that our obligation is to use every moment we have on this earth to make it a better place," Ms. Quinn says.

Ms. Quinn, who married her longtime partner, Kim Catullo, last year, has attracted national attention for the historic nature of her bid to become New York City's first openly gay mayor.

But the five-minute video, despite its personal touch, includes no reference to Ms. Catullo, or even that Ms. Quinn is gay.

The announcement on Sunday was essentially a formality for Ms. Quinn, who has spent years preparing a bid for mayor. Early polls show her with an advantage over her Democratic rivals, but that lead could prove illusory as more voters begin to pay attention to the race in the months leading up to the primary contests, which are expected to be held in September.

Ms. Quinn, a former housing activist who has shifted to the political center over the course of her career, has aggressively courted the city's business and real estate industries while also angling for labor support. She is hoping to win over residents outside of Manhattan who may be skeptical of her close ties with Mr. Bloomberg, a relationship that has allowed her to be caricatured by rivals as an elite Manhattanite.

On Sunday, Ms. Quinn plans to plunge into neighborhoods far from her Manhattan home bases of Chelsea and City Hall, making stops to greet residents in all five boroughs. The day serves to inaugurate a campaign effort that she calls "Walk and Talk" — or, as Ms. Quinn pronounces it in the video, "wawk and tawk," in a thick Long Island accent.

"It's a great way to hear directly from New Yorkers, what's going on in your homes, what's going on in their lives, so I can make sure when I'm mayor, my focus is their focus," Ms. Quinn says in the video, as she urges New Yorkers "to put those sensible shoes on" and join her for a local stroll.

The tour is a deliberate nod by the Quinn campaign to the "How'm I doin'?" routine of Mayor Edward I. Koch, who charmed voters with his brash talk and larger-than-life personality. Ms. Quinn's aides believe their candidate possesses a similar set of retail skills, and they plan to emphasize those attributes as she strives to separate herself from her rivals.

The video, which resembles the expensive ads of national political campaigns, was produced by Ms. Quinn's high-powered political consulting firm, SKD Knickerbocker, which has created political commercials for Mr. Bloomberg. Quinn campaign officials would not disclose the cost for the video.