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The ŷ������Ƭ is ready for its close-up.

A ŷ������Ƭ-produced commercial will debut Saturday during ESPN3’s broadcast of the Herbert Heymann Football Classic, the first game of the Ragin’ Cajuns football season. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Cajun Field, but there’s no definite time when the 30-second spot will air.

The commercial stars students, student-athletes, faculty and graduates. It rocks to a tune written and performed by the ŷ������Ƭ’s zydeco ensemble and capitalizes on the campus’ beauty.

ESPN provides time during the network’s game broadcast for the ŷ������Ƭ to promote itself.

The Office of Communications and Marketing began planning the 30-second spot in January. Aimée Bullinger Abshire, the ŷ������Ƭ’s director of web communications, managed the project.

“We tried to convey an overall theme of the ŷ������Ƭ – we preserve the past, we improve the present, and we’re innovating the future,” she said.

A student-written tune sets the commercial’s pace. The Zydeco Ragin’ Steppers, an ensemble affiliated with the ŷ������Ƭ’s Traditional Music program, recorded the song. The group’s student members and coach, musician Nathan Williams Jr., make a cameo as well.

About 40 students and student-athletes participated in the spot’s creation as cast members and extras.

International student Sofiyat Ibrahim, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, said she couldn’t pass up a chance to share her affection for the ŷ������Ƭ with a national audience.

“I love UL, and it’s an awesome opportunity to showcase that,” said Ibrahim, a pre-law and public relations double major.

Aaron Martin, UL Lafayette’s chief communications officer, called the commercial “a homegrown product.”

“We knew that no one could tell our story to a national audience better than we could,” he said. “The talent, the setting, the music, the technical expertise – everything we needed to make this commercial was right here.”

Want a sneak peak? the commercial on the ŷ������Ƭ's Youtube page. 

Caption: A production crew from Lafayette-based Holbrook Multi Media film student actors in UL Lafayette's Quadrangle. The scene opens a ŷ������Ƭ-produced national television commercial set to debut Saturday on ESPN. (Credit: Doug Dugas / ŷ������Ƭ)