Unlike many food products that pick a name to infer a regional or local heritage, K.C. Masterpiece Barbecue Sauce really did come from the kitchen of Kansas City resident , Dr. Rich Davis. Dr. Davis began bottling his “masterpiece” and before long it came to the attention of the Clorox Corporation which purchased the brand in the 1990s and took it national. That’s when Kirk Kirkpatrick got involved with the brand while Creative Director at Young & Rubicam in San Francisco. Kirkpatrick wrote and produced several commercials featuring Dr. Davis describing his secret recipe and the joys of barbecuing in general. Kirk recalls one particular film shoot in Pasadena, CA where Dr. Davis was bravely portraying a summer barbecue in 30-degree weather while the agency and crew huddled under kerosene heaters. Kirk made good use of that experience making a non-actor look and act personable and natural when he became creative director on the Wal-mart “real people” campaign a few years later making “stars” out of real Wal-Mart customers who were cast right out of stores from all over the country.
