Did Casey Donovan just ruin her big chance at a comeback?

SHE was on track for an almighty comeback. But it seems Casey Donovan may have just made one big, very bad decision.

SHE won Australia over again by claiming victory in the I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! jungle, but Casey Donovan’s latest move as the face of Coles may affect what could’ve been an almighty comeback.

“It just looks so cheap and tacky and it’s terrible for her,” an industry insider told news.com.au about Donovan’s appearance in the supermarket’s latest “down down” advertising campaign.

Dressed in a sparkly red dress with her hair styled into a red-tinged afro, Donovan dances in an aisle alongside staff members with giant red foam fingers attached to their hands.

“Down down! Prices are down!” Donovan belts into a crystal-covered microphone. At one point, the 28-year-old stands behind a staff member spruiking San Remo instant spaghetti while holding a guitar in the shape of a giant red hand.

In another advertisement, a husband and wife are watching the ad on TV when Donovan appears alongside British rockers Status Quo — who originally appeared in the ads in 2013.

“This one’s even more annoying than the last one,” the husband tells his wife.

“Saving money’s not annoying,” she quips back.

But apparently it is.

Casey Donovan goes all out in the new campaign for the supermarket.

Since the campaign started airing on television screens in recent weeks, it’s quickly grated on some viewers.

“So I just saw the Coles ad with Casey Donovan ... I just burnt my house down with all the TVs in it,” one person wrote on social media after seeing the ad.

“I love me some Casey Donovan but that Coles add [sic] is making me homicidal,” another commented.

Another wrote: “I think Casey usually has a lovely voice ... But in this ad she sounds like a cat that someone has stepped on its tail!”

In the years since winning Australian Idol in 2004, Donovan struggled to cut through in Australia’s tough entertainment industry and her career hit a slump. While she had been releasing music independently and scored some stage roles, it was reported earlier this year she had picked up work as an Uber driver.

But when she was revealed as a contestant on Channel Ten’s extreme reality show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! Australia’s interest in the singer was reignited. Over her six weeks in the jungle, she won fans again with her honesty, humour and musical talent.

So when she left the jungle victorious, it seemed Donovan was on the brink of an almighty comeback.

“It was a huge opportunity. And when you’re sitting in the jungle eating bugs and getting covered in offal, you’d hope you pop out the other end with something big,” the industry insider said.

“It’s fine to do an ad for Coles, but not as bad as this. It’s a shocker — the hair, the red, the ‘down down’.”

‘You’d pull the pin’ ... The Australian Idol winner divides fans in the commercial.

The insider, who estimates Donovan was paid between $20,000 and $30,000 to appear in the campaign, said it “missed the mark”.

“Whoever put her in that position and signed off on it ... (Her management) would usually get final approval and final edit. (In this case) you’d pull the pin,” they said.

Despite the criticism, Donovan’s management defended the move.

“Everyone is entitled to an opinion and Casey has also received a great deal of support and congratulations for the campaign from so many others which has been wonderful to see,” a representative for the singer said.

Coles also stands by Donovan and the campaign, with a spokesman telling news.com.au: “We’ve had fantastic feedback from our customers and our team since we launched our new Down Down ads and Casey’s new role as lead singer of our reinvigorated campaign.”

While Donovan hopes to re-enter the music charts with the May 19 release of her new single Lonely, the industry insider questions whether appearing in the supermarket campaign was the right interlude.

“She’s seen as the girl who’s had a tough ride but was pretty cool — this has derailed the coolness. For an artist, it’s seen as a sell out,” they said.