This quote highlights the importance of marketing skills across various industries, emphasizing that the core ability to promote a product effectively transcends the nature of the product itself. Whether it's something as taboo as smut, as mundane as toilet paper, or as glamorous as movies, the principles of marketing remain fundamentally the same. Successful marketing hinges on understanding your audience, crafting compelling messages, and choosing the right channels to reach potential consumers. Dawn Steel's insight suggests that if one can sell seemingly challenging or unglamorous products, they can likely adapt the same strategies to more complex or high-profile offerings like movies.

The message underscores that marketing isn’t solely about the product itself but about perception, branding, and connection with consumers. Movies, often thought of as high-culture or entertainment products, require savvy marketing to attract viewers in a crowded and competitive marketplace. If the art of selling provocative or everyday commodities is mastered, it signals a mastery of understanding consumer psychology, positioning, and persuasion—skills highly transferable across sectors.

Moreover, this quote serves as an encouragement to marketers and entrepreneurs alike: mastering marketing techniques provides a powerful advantage regardless of the product's nature. It dispels the notion that certain items are inherently difficult to sell, pointing instead to the importance of strategy and creativity. Ultimately, the quote reflects a broader truth about marketing's universal applicability and the importance of adaptability, skill, and understanding human interests to succeed in any commercial endeavor.