Michael Scott (Steve Carell) may not have been the best regional manager at Dunder Mifflin, but he always went out of his way to cheer up his employees and boost morale. One of his favorite team-building events was The Dundies, an awards ceremony celebrating the achievements of his staff. "The Dundies" has become one of the most memorable episodes of The Office, and its origins were actually inspired by true events.
A Dundie is an award that Michael Scott gives out to his Dunder Mifflin employees at an annual awards ceremony. Each Dundie is personalized for the winner, and the awards have bizarre categories such as 'Longest Engagement' and 'Whitest Sneakers.' The Dundies were introduced in the Season 2 episode "The Dundies," in which Michael hosted the awards ceremony in a packed Chili's restaurant.
Although the episode was written by Mindy Kaling, it was executive producer Greg Daniels who came up with the idea for "The Dundies." Daniels was a co-creator of the animated sitcom King of the Hill, and during his time there he created an awards show for his staff. The Swampy Awards were named after Jeff "Swampy" Marsh, an animator who worked on the show. Daniels has revealed that he even used to buy plastic trophies for the ceremony, similar to the ones Michael gave out to his employees.
"The Dundies" was intended to be the pilot episode of the show but Daniels thought it would be best to play it safe and recreate the pilot episode of the British version of The Office instead. The decision to save it for Season 2 worked out well as it was one of the highest rated episodes of that season.
Michael was the only person in the office who really looked forward to the event, as the awards he gave out were often quite embarrassing for the winners. The Office only had two episodes about the Dundies in its nine-season run, but the awards were frequently referenced and Michael had his own Dundie stationed on his desk. Both of the episodes about The Dundies featured some of the most awkwardly funny moments in the show, such as Pam claiming to feel God in Chili's and Erin breaking up with Gabe while on stage .
It was only fitting that the Dunder Mifflin crew gave Michael a heartfelt send-off after his last Dundies since he looked forward to the ceremony every year. In Season 7's "Michael Last Dundies," the staff were asked to leave a restaurant and continued their celebrations back at the office. They surprised Michael with a song to celebrate his time at Dunder Mifflin and thanked him for being such a caring boss.
The legacy of the Dundies has lived on long after The Office and has been the source of recurring jokes amongst fan groups. Years after the series ended, Jenna Fischer jokingly asked if she should be allowed back at Chili's since Pam was banned from the chain at the Dundies. Chili's responded to her on Twitter and stated that Pam Beesly is no longer banned because of good behavior.