Виральный трек о местном магазине алкоголя в Уичито привлёк толпы покупателей, несмотря на бан аккаунта автора

WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) — If you’ve driven past Seneca Street Liquor, you may know the store for its ever-changing, often funny sign. But lately, there’s another reason people know the Wichita business. You may have heard the viral song: “Seneca Street Liquor, the best liquor on Seneca Street.” What started as a late-night thought for a Wichita musician and filmmaker, Maximum James, turned into a viral TikTok sound — with people across the country dancing, lip-syncing, and making their own versions of the song. And now, that internet fame is translating into real business for the local store. James grew up in Wichita’s Delano neighborhood, just down the street from Seneca Street Liquor. He says the store was already familiar to his family. His dad used to go there when he was growing up. Then, one night around 1 a.m., a simple thought popped into his head. “Seneca Street Liquor, the best liquor on Seneca Street.” He thought it was funny, so he recorded a voice memo of himself saying it so he wouldn’t forget. That little joke eventually became a song. James worked with his friend Caleb to produce the beat, and then decided to make a video that looked like a cheesy local commercial from the early 2000s. He used an old camcorder and intentionally leaned into the dated look, complete with the kind of awkward shots, cheesy music and end card you might remember from old local TV commercials. The goal was never to make a hit. At first, it was exactly what he expected: a silly joke he could share with friends. Then, about three weeks later, the song took off. People started dancing to it, they lip-synced to it and even made covers and remixes. The sound quickly spread beyond Wichita, with people from across the country using it in their own videos. James said he was surprised to see the joke resonate so far outside the city where it started. The joke is bringing people to the store At Seneca Street Liquor, employees say the viral song has brought a noticeable increase in attention and customers. Nissa McWhorter, who works at the store, said people have been coming in singing the song, calling the store and taking pictures outside by the sign. She said employees have also heard from customers who traveled from other parts of Wichita. “People are saying that they are coming from other parts of the town or state just to come in for our store,” McWhorter said. James said the store told him they were seeing more sales after the videos took off. For him, that may be the best part of the entire thing. “The fact that my fake advertisement was able to amplify their business, so cool,” James said. And then James got banned from TikTok The viral moment came with one major twist. After the videos had been circulating for weeks, James said his TikTok account was hit with multiple strikes at once. Five of the seven videos were removed, and his account was permanently banned. James appealed the decision, arguing the videos were parody and were not intended to promote alcohol sales. He said the videos did not show people purchasing alcohol or include drink prices. Even after the original TikTok videos were removed, the sound continued to spread through other users’ posts and videos shared on other platforms. And what started as a joke made at 1 a.m. had already done something James never expected. It turned a goofy fake commercial into a real-world boost for a Wichita business. If you’ve heard it once, there’s a pretty good chance it’s already stuck in your head. MAXXJAMEZ / Maximum James  Spotify: Caleb - Producer of the Song Spotify: Latest Headlines from CNN