billboard's Scripture use

Last week as we were driving back from Cincinnati, we saw an eyecatching billboard. It didn't get our attention because of the picture or something out of the ordinary. It captured our attention because of the Scripture used on it. Well, I should say "misused."

On the billboard were two things (the two things I remember). One was the reference: John 19.27. The other was this phrase: "Ask thy mother, she will help you"

In the NIV, John 19.27 reads, "and to the disciple, 'Here is your mother.' From that time on, this disciple took her into his home."

From what I could gather, it was promoting a person's need to use Mary as a source of answers or somehow a source of help. I don't see that in that verse or anywhere else in Scripture. It struck me as an odd use of Scripture for a billboard.