Grambling State University’s World Famed Tiger Marching Band is taking its century-old HBCU brand to another national stage, this time as part of Urban Outfitters’ first dedicated Back-to-Campus commercial.
Six Grambling State students appear in “All Together Now,” a national campaign released Aug. 11 featuring 76 college students from more than 10 universities. Grambling State is the only HBCU represented in the campaign, putting the World Famed alongside student-athletes, dancers, creators and performers from schools across the country.
The commercial was filmed at Rutgers University’s 52,454-seat SHI Stadium in New Jersey and is built around the atmosphere of college game day, with real students serving as the cast rather than professional actors.
For Grambling State, the appearance comes during a particularly significant year. The World Famed is celebrating its 100th anniversary, while Grambling State is commemorating 125 years.
The six World Famed members featured are Destiny Day, a Criminal Justice major from Rayville, Louisiana; Raina Delee, a Mass Communication major from Dallas; Haylen Mallery, a Sports Administration major from Lafayette, Louisiana; Dale Marshall Jr., a Music Education major and former head drum major from Shreveport; Harmony West, a History major from Garland, Texas; and Jaylin Williams, an Electrical Engineering major from Lafayette.
Grambling State represents HBCUs in national campaign
Urban Outfitters brought together several recognizable pieces of contemporary college culture for the production.
The World Famed appears alongside the UNLV Rebel Girls & Company, San Diego State University Dance Team and Rutgers athletes, musicians and performers. The campaign also includes college football players participating through NIL, including NC State quarterback CJ Bailey, Syracuse quarterback Steve Angeli and Penn State players Tony Rojas and Brett Eskildsen.
Creators Emily Ha, Avery Kroll, Blythe Beardsley and Amayah Shaienne are also featured.
Yet among the more than 10 universities represented, Grambling State stands alone as the campaign’s HBCU representative.
That distinction gives the six World Famed members an opportunity to carry an HBCU marching band tradition into a campaign from a retailer with more than 200 stores across the United States, Canada and Europe.
“Opportunities like this allow our students to see where their talent, discipline and preparation can take them beyond the traditional performance setting,” Grambling State Director of Bands Nikole Roebuck said.
“We are proud of these six students for representing Grambling State and the World Famed on a national platform. As we celebrate 100 years of the World Famed, it is exciting to see our students carry that tradition into new spaces and introduce it to new audiences.”
World Famed tradition enters a different kind of arena
The setting may have been a football stadium, but this wasn’t a traditional halftime performance.
“All Together Now” is part commercial, part fashion campaign and part celebration of the college experience. Renowned dance crew GRV choreographed the production, while students were styled in merchandise from Urban Outfitters brands including BDG, Out From Under, Standard Cloth and iets frans….
For the Grambling students, that meant seeing firsthand how their experience as members of an HBCU marching band could translate into the worlds of advertising, fashion and entertainment.
Marshall said the production reinforced just how transferable the lessons learned through the World Famed can be.
“Being part of this campaign was another opportunity to see just how far the World Famed experience can take you,” Marshall said.
“To step onto a national set and represent Grambling alongside students from universities across the country was something special.”
Marshall said the preparation required of a World Famed member carried directly into the experience.
“The World Famed has taught me to be prepared, disciplined and confident wherever the opportunity takes me, and I was proud to carry that with me into this experience.”
Urban Outfitters puts college culture at center of campaign
Urban Outfitters describes “All Together Now” as the latest piece of a broader, multi-year strategy built around the college experience rather than a one-time advertisement.
The company has increasingly used real students, campus activations, live performances and creators to connect its brand with college-age consumers.
“For our customers, returning to campus is a chance to reconnect with friends, have fun, and start a new semester on the right foot,” Urban Outfitters President Shea Jensen said in the company’s announcement.
The campaign also features an original Bryan Master track, “All Together Now (UO Version).” The song is being distributed as a standalone single, included on Urban Outfitters’ Game Day playlist and played inside the company’s stores throughout college football season.
That gives the Grambling State appearance a reach extending beyond the commercial itself.
A 100-year-old HBCU brand keeps finding new audiences
The World Famed Tiger Marching Band has spent generations carrying Grambling State’s name far beyond its Louisiana campus.
Its latest appearance illustrates how that reach is evolving.
The same marching-band culture traditionally showcased inside football stadiums and at major performances is increasingly intersecting with fashion, advertising, entertainment and the creator economy.
And during the World Famed’s centennial year, six current Grambling State students are helping push that legacy into another space.
For a campaign designed to capture the people shaping modern campus culture, Urban Outfitters turned to students from across the country.
When it came to representing HBCU culture, it turned to Grambling State.