In the 1996/97 season, City gained nationwide publicity from a big sponsorship deal with local soft drinks manufacturer Britvic, once one of the largest employers in the town. The deal was later extended to include the 1997/98 campaign.
As part of the agreement, City had to depart from their traditional claret to a shirt that reflected the colour of the sports drink that Britvic were promoting, namely Red Card.
The publicity for the club was huge and featured billboards across the country – including one directly across the road from Old Trafford – and a national newspaper campaign that included advertisements on the back of The Sun newspaper featuring various players and staff. All very surreal!
Here you can find examples of the publicity campaign, this first collection courtesy of Martin Nicholson-Warn. Watch out on this page for more as they are added.
** STOP PRESS! YOU CAN READ DAVE GORE’S ARTICLE ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF THE RED CARD SPONSORSHIP DEAL IN THE MEMBERS’ AREA NOW! **
Click on an image to see the full version.
Chelmsford railway station (pic by Tom McDonald) 
Outside Colindale tube station (pic by Tom McDonald) 
Boleyn Pub, Upton Park (pic by Tom McDonald) 
Edgware Road, Edgware (pic by Tom McDonald)
The following pictures are part of Gary Mixture’s collection and were advertisements on the back page of The Sun newspaper
Made popular at the time by the likes of Robbie Fowler, nasal strips with the Red Card logo were handed out to City players 
There were even Chelmsford Red Card Christmas cards produced (1/2) 
There were even Chelmsford Red Card Christmas cards produced (2/2) 
The sponsor made it onto the club’s letterhead
