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This is something I can't give super deep, direct insight on, as I have virtually no experience with the Del Monte promotion, nor have any appearances in media to show. From old Brickset forum posts (i.e. this one), there is no consensus on what Del Monte product this was distributed through or when.

Instead, I will primarily use my knowledge of other LEGO Samsonite products to determine what I feel is the best evidenced history of this promotion. Let's start with what we do know.

The Del Monte promotion began with a mail-away set advertised through some Del Monte product. The piece count of the standard set is unknown, but was likely 125 pieces. Surviving examples appear as such, with boxes stamped with '1258':

Including this idea card:

And that's it, that's all we know.

As the promotional vehicle is entirely unknown and undocumented, having no known mention in archived/indexed newspapers and magazines, the 1971 date seen online is very likely an estimate based exclusively on the form number and not anything definitively dateable.

For many Samsonite items, the form number is a very useful tool. The form number of the above idea card is 8029, after 1971's Puppet Set Instructions (8025) and before 1972's Imagination Sets Brochure (8031). The issue here is that the form number alone could make a case either way, for either a 1971 release or a 1972 release. So it cannot really be used here to disprove one or the other.

Instead, we're going to examine the sets as they are. And I say 'sets', as I have an image of an example with '#3' on a larger box, which based on what we've seen from Kraft sets, means there were possibly multiple different sets that could be ordered:

But that doesn't mean I'm proclaiming there were indeed multiple sets, just that it is possible.

Anyways, the above example is useful as it shows something a little more diagnostic of 1972 than anything 1971: a red tape seal. It is primarily seen on the bags used in the 1972 Imagination Sets, though white is also used:

Along with that, the 125 piece assortment is exclusive to 1972 sets. There was no previous equivalent, as it was developed only after the entire LEGO line was redesigned after the 1971 net loss for the entire toy division. This is explored in Why did US Samsonite lose the LEGO license?

That situation would also explain why the idea card is printed in black and white, something seldom seen for Samsonite materials (the only other one I can think of is the 1969 322 Educational Gear Set and the 1968 Dealer Catalog).

Also, it is the exact same piece count/box that the 1972 125-Piece Kraft Set used, even sharing the same idea card:

They both also have the '1258' stamp:

Given that similarity, as well as everything else we covered above, I'm very comfortable with a 1972 release date. And important to remember, this promotion could've very well taken place earlier in 1972 than Kraft promotions typically did, explaining the interesting placement of the form number, which dates preparation and not necessarily distribution. It's normally not an issue as we typically have several confidently dateable materials before and after, but not in this case.

Without knowing what appears before it or after, we're left at the mercy of our deduction, which is fairly strong for what we have to work with. I suspect they are not LEGO products but instead paperwork for other Samsonite toys, but finding any of them will be more of a struggle than finding the Del Monte origin.

Ultimately, this is one of the last sets I've needed to create an article for on the US side of things, and it's for good reason. Coming from my struggle to identify the P&G product that the 005 Discovery Set was advertised through from 1965-66, I am both surprised and not surprised there is no trace of this promotion ever having taken place beyond surviving examples. I was hopeful that by now, nearly a year into this project, thinking about Samsonite quite literally every day while turning the entire internet upside down and speaking with collectors with a mutual interest... surely we would've found something.

But maybe you've noticed something I haven't. Feel free to reach out via [email protected].