Independent advertising agency Firehouse in Dallas has hired Wade Alger as chief inspiration officer. Alger most recently had been chief creative officer at Zimmerman Advertising in Florida. Prior to that he was executive creative director at TBWA\Chiat\Day New York.

Alger is perhaps best known for his tenure as a creative at The Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., where he was behind the Geico ads “Unskippable,” “Happier Than (hump day),” and “Did You Know” that helped the brand go from ninth to the number two auto insurer in the country. At Martin he also co-wrote the “The World’s Biggest Asshole” for Donate Life – which led to a more than 600% increase in organ donation registrations. In addition, Alger helped create the award-winning site We Chose the Moon and Clouds Over Cuba for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.   

Originally from the Dallas area, Alger coming aboard Firehouse represents him coming full circle geographically. His hiring kicks off Firehouse’s 25th year in business. Alger will add to the firm’s momentum and talented creative roster as he helps lead and inspire the team of creatives in the brand-building space.  

“There’s a reason why big agency talent like Wade is migrating to smaller shops. There’s less bureaucracy, fewer barriers to creativity and greater access to clients”, said Tripp Westbrook, president and chief creative officer, Firehouse.  “Wade’s arrival shows our intent to continue punching above our size and being a highly valuable, highly creative resource for clients of all sizes.” 

Alger related, “I really do think small is the new big. Clients are looking for agencies like Firehouse--with more transparency, more creative engagement on their business, and most important, they’re looking at agencies to see who exactly will work on their business. When you’re a smaller, independent agency like Firehouse, the people in the room are the ones working on your account. That level of focus and firepower is hard to ignore, which is why we’re seeing even large clients take notice.”

Alger was raised in McKinney, Texas, and graduated from McKinney High School. From there, he went to SMU and received a bachelors in marketing/communications. Alger’s work has won 57 Cannes Lions, 38 One Show pencils, nine D&AD pencils and countless FWA and Art Directors Club awards. His work also won several industry AICP awards and multiple ANDYs, Webby and CA awards as well as two Emmy nominations and one Emmy win.

Firehouse’s clients include Lennox, Trupanion, Stryker, Coinstar and Mary Kay. In this newly created role at the agency, Alger will be a creative catalyst across all clients and look for opportunities to amplify the ideas and the work wherever possible.