A cat burglar offers advice on home security while invading someone else’s house in a spot introducing the security and home automation system Sage By Hughes.

Directed by A Common Thread’s Eli Green for Colorado agency Victors and Spoils, the spot lends a comedic touch to a product category often promoted through fear. While paging through the owners’ books and lounging on their bed, the glib thief explains that his Sage system includes monitoring features that he can control from his phone, “which means I have more confidence to take out of town jobs, like this one.”

“Most ads for security products try to scare people,” says Green. “We wanted to do something that was more clever and fun.”

Three other spots tout the features of the Sage system in a mock game show format. One compares the simplicity, convenience and low cost of the system to dressing a baby. The second contrasts the system’s cellphone app with a woman coloring her hair. The third makes a comparison to parallel parking. “We took what could have been dry, how-to material and made it interesting and engaging,” Green says.

A Common Thread is located at 4081 Redwood Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90066. For more information, call 310.823.7300 or visit www.acommonthread.tv