In “The Office,” Michael comes up with the idea of mailing Golden Tickets to random customers as discount offers. Inspired by Willy Wonka, he places five golden tickets into separate shipments of Dunder Mifflin paper, with each ticket promising a 10 percent discount for one year.
The promotion appears in “Golden Ticket,” the nineteenth episode of the fifth season, which originally aired on March 12, 2009. Michael expects the gimmick to attract and reward customers, but he fails to notice that all five shipments are going to Blue Cross of Pennsylvania, Dunder Mifflin’s biggest client.
Because Michael did not include a “limit one per customer” restriction, Blue Cross can claim all five discounts, effectively receiving 50 percent off. Michael initially tries to make Dwight take responsibility for the idea. The situation ultimately turns around when David Wallace learns that Blue Cross is so pleased with the discount that it plans to make Dunder Mifflin its exclusive office-supplies provider. The item is sometimes described as coupons, but “Golden Tickets” is the show’s specific name for them.