The Smile Train, a US charity backed by George Bush Sr, will start fundraising in the UK this year.
It provides cleft lip and palate surgery to children in developing countries.
Bush and actors Bette Midler and Candice Bergen sit on its advisory committee.
Ad agency WWAV Rapp Collins said it would run a £4m advertising campaign to recruit British donors. Patricia Ma, a spokeswoman for the charity, would not confirm these details. The campaign will promise that 100 per cent of funds raised will go directly to programmes because trustees pay the charity's running costs.
Gareth Davies, chief executive of the Cleft Lip and Palate Association, said: "We welcome anything that increases the profile of cleft lips and palates."
