Saying 'I Quit' in a Super Bowl Commercial: 9 Memorable Exits
Here's how Gwen Dean's boss reacted after he saw her quit during the Super Bowl.
Feb. 3, 2014 — -- intro: What better way to start your own puppet business by telling your boss you're quitting in a Super Bowl commercial?
Gwen Dean, 36, did just that on Sunday night in GoDaddy's Super Bowl ad. From Yonkers, N.Y., Dean was a machine engineer that worked on refrigeration for large office buildings, GoDaddy said.
She emailed her boss after the ad aired, giving two weeks' notice, even though only one week was required, GoDaddy said.
Her new website name? PuppetsByGwen.com.
Watch: Super Bowl 2014 Commercials: Cute, Hilarious, Sexy and Weird
Here's more about Dean and eight other memorable ways workers said "bye-bye" to their employers.
quicklist:category: In front of biggest TV sports audiencetitle: Super Bowl commercialmedia: 22346214text:
"Hi Ted, I quit," Gwen Dean said in a commercial that featured actor John Turturro, star in "O Brother, Where Art Though?" and the "Transformers" films.
"She just quit her job in front of 100 million people," Turturro points out, followed by Dean saying, "Ciao, baby."
Dean, who makes puppets and performs puppet shows, said after she emailed her boss the resignation, she received a text message from him.
Instead of being angry, her boss, she said on the "Today" show, told her, "You've got to be kidding. Wow. Great commercial."
"I called him right after that and we laughed. He was really professional about it," Dean told ABCNews.com, adding that he accepted her two week's notice. "He wished me well and congratulated me."
Her last day at the company will be on Valentine's Day, she said. After that she'll pursue her passion of puppetry that she has had since childhood.
It was years ago that she decided to pursue puppetry as a career -- when she helped her friend with a puppet show at a hospital.
Dean, who said she and her employer are choosing to keep the company name anonymous, said she doesn't resent her boss.
"He's a personable person and he's been great to work for," she said. "This is all about me trying to pursue my dream in leveraging the Internet, GoDaddy's website-builder and getting in front of my clients and staying there."
The only person who knew about her Super Bowl stunt beforehand was her father.
"I told him because I didn't want him to have a heart attack," she told ABCNews.com.
Before her last job, she was a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, having served during 9/11, GoDaddy said.
"My dad was with me at the American Legion, with my fellow veterans, when the commercial played on the big screen ... people were a little stunned, it took what seemed like minutes for it to register," she said in a statement.
Read More: How to Let Loose on Fun at Work Day
quicklist:category: Investment Banker Drops His Pantstitle: Mooning media: 17152627 text:
After learning that his friend was fired for refusing to accept a lower salary, Jason Selch, a former investment banker at Wanger Asset Management in Chicago, allegedly mooned two bosses in a meeting in 2005.
Selch was eventually fired for "egregious behavior" and had to forfeit contingency payments worth almost $2 million. After he sued for breach of contract, an Illinois appeals court ruled against him.
Read More: 5 Famous Power Struggles at Startups
quicklist:category: Marching Band Resignationtitle: Joey Quitsmedia: 17152651text:In the fall of 2011, when college student Joey DeFrancesco had had enough of his job at a hotel in Providence, R.I., he asked his band, the What Cheer? Brigade, to accompany him when he quit. He also recorded a video of the resignation called "Joey Quits" and started a website about hospitality workers rights.
The YouTube video has received millions of views.
quicklist:category: YouTube and a Guitartitle: Microsoft Worker Signs Off With Melodymedia: 17152830text:
In the spring of 2012, program manager Karen Cheng recorded a heartfelt good-bye to her Microsoft co-workers before she left for a new job at a startup in San Francisco.
Cheng strummed a guitar and recapped her three years at the company using Excel lingo, singing, "forever recalc or die" to the tune of "American Pie" by Don McLean.
quicklist:category: New York Times Op-Edtitle: Goldman Sachs Employee Zings the Investment Bankmedia: 17152607text:
In March 2012, a former Goldman Sachs employee resigned from the company in a New York Times op-ed, saying Goldman Sachs had a "toxic" environment that did not focus on clients.
The company responded with a statement, saying it disagreed with Smith's assessment of the company but went on to investigate his claims.
Smith later landed a $1.5 million book deal with Grand Central Publishing.
quicklist:category: Theft title: Pharmacy Worker Quits, Steals, Leaves IOUmedia: 17152763text:
Police in Uniontown, Pa., said a man stole $697 from his employer, a Walgreen's pharmacy, then quit with a note to his boss and an IOU.
The note reportedly included the message "I quit this place;" "This place is a joke ...;" and "P.S. IOU," according to the Associated Press.
quicklist:category: Public signage title: Taco Bell Employee Gets Creative With Lettersmedia: 17152675text:
An employee at a Taco Bell and KFC in upstate New York made a memorable statement when he left a message for his boss on the restaurant's exterior sign. The message outside the Depew, N.Y., restaurant read, "I quit - Adam/ F**k you" with a smiley face.
quicklist:category: Mass Emailtitle: Public Official Emails 500 Co-Workers About Work Ethicsmedia: 17152664 text:
In the spring of 2012, a German public official retired and told 500 co-workers in an email that he hadn't worked for 14 years, which was leaked to the press.
The man in North Rhine-Westphalia wrote he had earned about $952,860, or £600,000, but he was "not really there," the Daily Mail reported.
quicklist:category: Make a music videotitle: Woman quits with a jigmedia: 20439380text: With Kanye West's song "Gone," Marina Shifrin decided to record a dance message to her boss late at the office.