Zohran Mamdani used three things to catapult himself to an upset Democratic primary win in the New York City mayor’s race: a viral social media presence, a laser focus on affordability and an exhaustive ground game.

His opponents’ immediate takeaway? They need a better video strategy.

Nine days after Mr. Mamdani clinched victory, Mayor Eric Adams released an online video where he pretended to be talking to Usher — using scenes from the artist’s well-known music video for “Confessions Part II” — to announce a summer concert series.

He later filmed himself doing pull-ups from a pedestrian crossing sign, and, more recently, invited New Yorkers on an “MTV Cribs”-style tour of his home at Gracie Mansion. (As a candidate in 2021, Mr. Adams conducted a similar tour of a home he owns in Brooklyn to demonstrate that he actually lived there. It was not entirely convincing.)

Not to be outdone, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the primary, has posted videos of himself jump-starting a car and opining on how to pronounce “Kosciuszko Bridge.” using snappy music, a cinematic filter and a new clip-on microphone.

How’re they doin’? The consensus: not particularly well.

“Literally doing ANYTHING but his job,” one person commented on Mr. Adams’s pull-up video, receiving 2,500 likes. Two comments on the Kosciuszko Bridge video derided Mr. Cuomo, whose father also served as governor, as a “nepo baby.”

The efforts have drawn some attention — the bridge video has received 128,000 views on X; the pull-up video has gotten 351,000 views — but were still far shy of the viral heights reached by Mr. Mamdani’s work.

In one of his first videos, Mr. Mamdani, a state lawmaker and democratic socialist, asked working-class voters in Queens and the Bronx why they voted for Donald J. Trump for president in November. The three-minute compilation has garnered 3.5 million views on X.

In another, he ran into the icy waters off Coney Island to promote his rent freeze proposal. He hammered home the city’s affordability crisis by interviewing food vendors about “halalflation.”

He has kept up the pace since his primary win. His video from a Wu-Tang Clan concert at Madison Square Garden got six million views. When he left for a vacation to Uganda, he preemptively mocked the criticism he might face over the trip in a video that was viewed 11 million times.

Andrew Epstein, an adviser to Mr. Mamdani who leads his video operation, said that even if the other candidates were trying to imitate Mr. Mamdani’s video style, they could not mimic his message.

“What separates us primarily is Zohran himself, his authentic connection with New Yorkers and a certain kind of populist politics,” he said.

Neutral observers were less diplomatic.

Wynter Mitchell-Rohrbaugh, a digital strategist who works with celebrities and large brands, said that voters were already skeptical of the records of Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Adams and that their videos did not seem genuine.

“They look like they’re just putting on a costume,” she said. “People want authenticity and transparency.”

Mr. Adams, a former police captain, was perhaps truer to his roots when he made a memorable video in 2011 instructing parents on how to search their children’s rooms for guns or drugs. His campaign spokesman, Todd Shapiro, said that video, made when Mr. Adams was a state senator, demonstrated how the mayor had long been “using video and digital content to connect with New Yorkers.”

“Mayor Adams is not trying to be like anyone else,” Mr. Shapiro said. “He’s been using video as a leadership tool for over 10 years, and he’s leading today with the same mix of serious policy focus and modern communication style that reflects the energy of New York itself.”

Still, Matthew Kulvicki, who directed Mr. Adams’s room-searching video, said that Mr. Mamdani’s videos were “truly excellent” and “brought out the best in him.” The videos from Mr. Adams and Mr. Cuomo, by contrast, appeared inauthentic and “somewhat forced,” he said.

“They seem to be trying to copy and catch up,” said Mr. Kulvicki, who is now the director of film and video at the Institute for New Economic Thinking, a think tank.

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Mr. Cuomo, said that his new video strategy was part of a broader retooling of the campaign that includes more retail politics.

“You’re not going to out-Mamdani Mamdani, and that was never the goal,” he said. “It’s about meeting New Yorkers where they are — on the streets and online.”

If there is an authenticity gap, it may simply reflect a generational divide. Mr. Mamdani, 33, is a digital native who made waves online as a rapper; many of his advisers are under 40. Mr. Cuomo is 67 and Mr. Adams is 64.

Curtis Sliwa, the Republican candidate for mayor, said that Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Adams had failed to match Mr. Mamdani’s energy online.

“They’re baby boomers like me,” said Mr. Sliwa, 71. “They never make you laugh,” he added. “They make you cringe.”

Mr. Sliwa, naturally, also has ventured into the viral video pursuit, though he described his efforts as “spontaneous and gritty.” One clip shows him giving a sandwich to a homeless man on the street.

He did manage to score a viral hit when he accused Mr. Cuomo of “slapping fannies and killing grannies” in a Fox News interview — a reference to allegations against the former governor of sexual harassment and mishandling the pandemic (Mr. Cuomo denies both). Mr. Sliwa said he had heard that line from a “former hippie” from the Lower East Side whom he ran into on the subway.

Mr. Adams has sought to be more creative in his efforts. A video of his “morning routine” showed him shaving, ironing his clothes and making a smoothie while talking about his faith.

But viewers noticed that the time on the clock behind him did not match the caption in the video, allowing his critics to amplify existing concerns about the mayor’s truthfulness.

Mr. Adams tried to have a sense of humor about the criticism, even filming short videos about the many unkind comments. He smiles in one as he reads aloud: “Adams’s sunglasses game stronger than his policies.”

Then he urges voters to check out his plans for universal child care and after-school.