"Just Bengaluru Things": Saree Shop Displays ChatGPT-Style Ad Ahead Of Varamahalakshmi Festival

A Bengaluru saree store has gone viral on social media with its innovative ad design that mimics a ChatGPT-style AI chatbot prompt. The display, spotted in-store, asks "Why is Varamahalakshmi festival celebrated?" and has been hailed for its unique way of engaging with customers. The screenshot serves as a clever promotional strategy for the saree store ahead of Varamahalakshmi festival, a significant occasion in South India where married women worship Goddess Lakshmi for prosperity, fertility, and harmony.  According to the interface, the festival is celebrated on the second Friday of the Shravan month.

"Local saree shop in Bangalore using ChatGPT mobile interface for an ad is a first. Earlier, it would be the Google search bar design. Just Bangalore things, I guess," wrote an X user, sharing the image.

See the post here:

Local saree shop in Bangalore using ChatGPT mobile interface for an ad is a first.

Earlier it would be the Google search bar design.

Just Bangalore things I guess. pic.twitter.com/TA5664tJAs

— Osborne Saldanha (@os7borne) August 5, 2025

The ad's photo went viral on X with many praising it as a fresh take on digital marketing. One user wrote, "Love how Bangalore keeps blending tech with everyday life! A saree shop using ChatGPT for an ad is next-level—used to be just Google search bars. Would probably say markets adapt fast to new tech. Just Bangalore being Bangalore."

Another commented, "Haha evolution starts happening in Bangalore first."

Varamahalakshmi festival, also known as Varalakshmi Vratam, is a significant Hindu festival celebrated in South India, particularly in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana. It's observed on the Friday before the full moon day in the month of Shravana. 

This ad adds to Bengaluru's quirky tech moments, like the viral photo of an auto driver watching a Naval Ravikant podcast while driving. The pic showed the podcast being played on a small monitor screen that the driver had seemingly fixed just above the windshield.